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WISCONSIN
ARCHEOLOGIST
VOLUME 14
1915
PUBLISHED BY THE
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
MILWAUKEE
fecund
OCT 4 I9U
20600G
Vol. 14 April, 1915 No. 1
THE
WISCONSIN
ARCHEOLOGIST
Fond du Lac County Antiquities
Wisconsin Indian Medals
PUBLISHED BY THE
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
MILWAUKEE
Wisconsin Archeological
Society
MILWAUKEE, WIS.
Incorporated March 23, 1903, for the purpose of advancing the study and
preservation of Wisconsin antiquities.
OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
GEORGE A. WEST Milwaukee
VICE-PRESIDENTS
DR. S. A. BARRETT : Milwaukee
DR. ORRIN THOMPSON Neenah
W. H. ELLSWORTH Milwaukee
WILLIAM H. TITUS Fond du Lac
H. E. COLE Baraboo
DIRECTORS
DR. E. J. W. NOTZ Milwaukee
DR. LEWIS SHERMAN Milwaukee
TflEASURER
LEE R. WHITNEY _. Milwaukee
SECRETARY
CHARLES E. BROWN Madison
COMMITTEES
STATE ARCHEOLOGICAL SURVEY— G. A. West, G. E. Brown, Dr.
S. A. Barrett, H. L. Skavlem, L. R. Whitney, Dr. Louis Falge, Geo.
R. Fox.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS— H. P. Hamilton, Prof. A. H. Sanford, W. H.
Ellsworth, O. L. Hollister, Dr. H. C. Bumpus, B. W. Davis, Dr. M.
M. Quaife, 0. P. Olson, Rudolph Kuehne, P. V. Lawson.
MOUND PRESERVATION— E. N. Warner, Mrs. E. H. Van Ostrand,
J. M. Poytt, T. E. Brittingham, Prof. L. B. Wolfenson, Dr. J. S.
Walbridge, Dr. E. J. W. Notz, Rev. L. E. Drexel, G. H. Squier.
Charles Lapham.
MEMBERSHIP— Lee R. Whitney, Dr. Orrin Thompson, Walter Wenz,
G. R. Zilsch, H. 0. Younger, Paul Joers, Thomas Bardon, Mrs. Jessie
R. Skinner, C. E. Guenther, R. F. Goodman.
MAN MOUND— H. E. Cole, Mrs. E. C. Wiswall, W. W. Warner.
PRESS— Rev. J. E. Copus, John Poppendieck, C. W. Norris, E. R. Mc-
Intyre, A. 0. Barton.
SESSIONS
These are held in the Lecture Room in the Library-Museum
Building, in Milwaukee, on the third Monday of each month, at
8 P. M.
During the months of July to October no meetings will be held.
MEMBERSHIP FEES
Life Members, $25.00 Sustaining Members, $5.00
Annual Members, $2.00
..^^ ' communications in regard to the Wisconsin Archeological Society or to the
Wisconsin Archeologist" should be addressed to Charles E. Brown. Secretary
Office, and Curator, State Historical Museum, Madison, Wisconsin.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Vol. 14, No. 1.
ARTICLES
Page
Fond du Lac County Antiquities, W. H. Titus _ _ _ _ . 1
Wisconsin Indian Medals, Charles E. Brown _____ 28
Archeological Notes _________^ 37
ILLUSTRATIONS
"Washington Indian Medal, Joseph Ringeisen Collection _ Frontispiece
Plate Facing Page
1. Zimmerman Group __________ 6
2. "Dumb-bell" Group ___.____. 10
3. Peebles Group __________ 12
4. Grooved Stone Axes, G. M. Brugger Collection _ _ _ 14
5. St. Cloud Group and Garden Beds ______ 16
6. Sheboygan River near St. Cloud _______ 18
7. Long Lake ___________ 20
8. Byron Group ___________ 22
9. Graves in Barker Gravel Pit at Calumetville _ _ _ _ 24
10. Pottery Vessels from Gravel Pit near Calumet Harbor, A.
Gerend and R. Kuehne Collections ______ 26
Figure
1. Briggs Group ___________ 7
2. Fischer Group ___________ 8
3. Clapham Group __________ 9
4. Leonard Mill Group _____._,_ 15
5. Long Lake Group __________ 18
6. Round Lake Mound __._ 18
Washington Indian Medal
Jos. Ringeisen Collection
The Wisconsin Archeologist
Quarterly Bulletin Published by the Wisconsin Archeological Society
Vol. 14 MADISON, WIS., APRIL, 1915 No. 1
FOND DU LAC COUNTY ANTIQUITIES
William A. Titus
In offering this report for publication the writer desires it
to be understood that it is not in any sense a complete survey
of the aboriginal remains in Fond du Lac county, but a
description of the groups of Indian earthworks and sites
which he was able to map and describe within the limited
time given to the work during the season of 1914. He hopes
later to be able to describe additional Fond du Lac county
antiquities in a final report.
Previous contributions to the record of the location and
character of the Indian remains in this county were made
by Dr. Alphonse Gerend, of Cato; Mr. George M. Brugger,
of Fond du Lac; Rev. Leopold E. Drexel, of Fox Lake;
Mr. Charles E. Brown, of Madison, and Mr. B. W. Davis,
of Waupun. To these and to several other gentlemen, who
have furnished information of a helpful nature, full credit
is given in the following pages.
Because of its location around the southern end of Lake
Winnebago, the present Fond du Lac county was a field of
great activity among the prehistoric tribes of Wisconsin.
The lake together with the Upper and Lower Fox rivers and
numerous smaller streams, opened up to primitive naviga-
tion and commerce a vast area, all of which was occupied
by the aborigines at one time or another, and by different
tribes at different periods.
2 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 1
In historic time the principal Indian villages in the county
were at Calumet, Taycheedah, and Fond du Lac. The
Menominee village at Calumet is mentioned by Samuel A.
Storrow, who with Tomah, the noted Menominee chief as
a guide, visited it on September 25, 1817. It was called
Calumet and was "situated on the edge of a prairie" bor-
dering on Lake Winnebago. Its inhabitants numbered
about 150. On the prairie about the village were evidences
of the former cultivation of the soil, probably of plots of corn
hills and garden beds. Storrow distributed a quantity of
tobacco, Vermillion, salt, thread and needles among the In-
dians. Before taking his departure he smoked the pipe with
some of the principal men in one of the wigwams and partook
of a part of a large kettle of wild rice. He was not favorably
impressed with the Indians because of their lack of industry
and the filthy condition of the village. (W. H. Colls., v. 6,
pp. 170-173.) Samuel Stambaugh mentions that Little Wave
was in 1831 the chief of the large Menominee village at
Calumet. He states that this chief was one of the signers
of the treaty made at Washington, in that year. (W. H.
Colls., V. 15, p. 420.)
By Augustin Grignon we are informed that the chief of
the Winnebago village located at Taycheedah, was Sar-ro-
chau, whom he praises as "one of the best of Indians." The
village bore his name. Sar-ro-chau was with Colonel McKay
in the British attack on Prairie du Chien, in 1814. After
his death his son, The Smoker, became the chief of the vil-
lage (W. H. Colls., V. 3, p. 251). The Smoker, or Tahnick-
sieka, served as a guide under Pierre Paquette, the Portage
trader, in the Black Hawk war in 1832. (W. H. Colls., v.
13, p. 453.)
The Winnebagos appear to have had two villages at Fond
du Lac in the days of the traders, one on the East branch
of the Fond du Lac river, near where the malt house now
stands, and one on the West branch, just below where
Forest avenue now crosses that stream. Vague mention
is made of a third Indian village on the high bank of the
West branch between what is now Superior street and the
river, and near the west end of Tompkins street. It is
known that at some remote period there was an Indian
cemetery on the present Grove street, near the city limits,
Fond du Lac County Antiquities
and bones as well as implements of stone and copper, are
frequently brought to the surface in the cultivating of the
land.
While on their way to the Four Lakes region in 1829, Mor-
gan L. Martin, James D. Doty, Alex Grignon and Wist-
weaw, their Menominee guide, passed over the present site
of Fond du Lac, where they found a Winnebago village.
Martin says of it: "we crossed the river without visiting
the savages, for whose company we were not over anxious.
Wistweaw, however, was sent back there to engage a guide
to pilot us to the Four Lake country." (W. H. Colls., v.
11, p. 400.)
Augustin Grignon states that in 1788, a trader named
Ace, had a trading post "about a mile and a half up Fond
du Lac river." He was murdered by some Winnebago
Indians of White Dog's Rock river band. His wife and
children were rescued by friendly chiefs of the neighbor-
ing Indian village, at Taycheedah. (W. H. Colls., v. 3,
pp. 263-264.)
The aboriginal inhabitants of Fond du Lac county were
skilled in the art of making implements of stone and copper.
Specimens of these collected from the graves, mounds and
village sites are preserved in the State Historical Museum,
at Madison; in the Milwaukee Pubhc Museum and in the
Logan Museum, at Beloit. In the American Museum of
Natural History, in New York, there are a small number
of copper needles, spearpoints, knives and chisels, a brass
bracelet and stone pipe, collected chiefly at Eden, Dundee
and Rush lake. The best local collection is that of Mr.
George M. Brugger, of Fond du Lac, which contains many
specimens of unique interest. Some of his specimens are
illustrated in this publication, and others have been figured
in previous numbers of the Wisconsin Archeologist. Dr.
Alphonse Gerend, of Cato, has in his cabinet some inter-
esting materials collected by himself in this county. An
interesting collection formerly owned by Mr. L. M. Wyatt,
of Fond du Lac, was destroyed by fire.
Pottery fragments are plentiful in the vicinity of old
village sites, and their hardness and decoration would in-
dicate that the natives had acquired a fair degree of skill in
the potter's art. But few specimens of pottery have been
found in an unbroken condition in this locality. Wooden
4 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 1
implements were undoubtedly most frequently employed
for agricultural purposes. These have long since decayed
and disappeared.
Passing from the minor to the major antiquities, we find
numerous groups of mounds as well as village sites and gar-
den beds. These are usually found along well defined routes
of travel, either trails, waterways, or portages between the
waterways. One such aboriginal highway led from Gouter-
mout's bay in the town of Taycheedah to the headwaters
of the Sheboygan river. The largest group of mounds and
garden beds along this old trail is located just west of the
village of St. Cloud, in the town of Marshfield, on the banks
of the Sheboygan river. This group will be described in
detail later. Another Indian waterway was up the East
Branch of the Fond du Lac river, across a portage of about
two miles in the town of Lamartine, and thence down the
Rock river. Indian remains are also found along the sev-
eral branches of the Milwaukee river, in the southeastern
part of Fond du Lac county.
The mounds or earthworks found in the Lake Winnebago
region are of three kinds; effigy, linear and circular or oval
burial mounds. A fourth class, possibly, are the composite
*'dumb-beir' shaped mounds, examples of which were found
by the writer in a group in Taycheedah township, in August,
1914. These mounds, which have not been previously
reported, will be described in detail.
The effigy mounds were seldom if ever used for burial
purposes. They are now generally believed to have been
totems or monuments to mark the rallying places of the
different tribes, or more Ukely of the different clans of a
tribe. Thus constructed of earth, we find the effigy of the
bear, of the panther, of the turtle, and many other animals,
including birds. It is quite common to find effigy and burial
mounds in the same group. This is as we might expect.
When the members of a certain clan died, it was natural for
them to be buried near their clan effigy.
The theory of the construction of the circular or oblong
burial mound, that the first and oldest burial was in a com-
paratively low and small mound and that the later burials
were intrusive, that is they were successively placed on top
of the former ones and new layers of earth added, is sub-
stantiated to some degree by cultivation of the mounds of
Fond du Lac County Antiquities
the Long lake and Round lake groups, in the township of
Osceola, in the eastern part of the county. The earlier
plowings brought up bones from near the surface which were
fairly well preserved. As the mounds were gradually lower-
ed by cultivation other skeletal remains were brought to
the surface, but in a poorer state of preservation. Even
now, with these n:\ounds almost leveled, fragments of bones
are occasionally turned up by the plow. This theory of
mound construction has been conclusively proven in other
localities by careful excavations of large mounds, these
showing the successive burials and layers of earth in section.
We will now consider the various groups of mounds that
have come under the observation of the writer during the
season's work. In most cases, he was accompanied in his
investigations by Donald Scheib, a senior student of the
Fond du Lac High School, who rendered valuable assistance.
The town of Taycheedah lying northeast of Fond du Lac,
on the shores of Lake Winnebago, easily leads all the other
townships of the county in the number and extent of its
aboriginal earthworks, and it was here that we began our
investigations. Extending from the present village of Tay-
cheedah northward along the lake shore are a succession of
village sites, evidenced by the presence of hearth stones,
pottery fragments, flint arrow points and flakes and other
remains. On some of these Indian sites, villages continued
to exist down to early historic times. Most of this land is
now under cultivation and evidences of corn fields and gar-
den beds where such existed have long since been effaced.
The numerous groups of burial mounds are found some dis-
tance back from the lake shore and on higher ground, where
they commanded a view that gave to the man of the forest
the protection of a wide outlook and a beauty of landscape
unsurpassed in the Northwest. To these worshippers of
Nature, this latter was of no small consideration.
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 1
EARTHWORKS AND SITES IN TAYCHEEDAH
TOWNSHIP
ZIMMERMAN GROUP
Plate 1
»
This group of mounds is located in an orchard on the old
Ballou farm now owned by C. Zimmerman, in the N.E. quar-
ter of Section of 20, and consists at the present time of three
conical mounds. Neighborhood tradition says that formerly
there were more mounds in this group. If so, the others have
been leveled by cultivation for no trace of them now remains.
The large mounds. No. 2 and No. 3, are located on the tops
of natural hillocks, and have been badly mutilated by relic
hunters. No. 4 is a much smaller mound and is located in
a sloping field below the other two mounds. A human
skeleton was removed from this mound a few years ago. The
largest mound is 60 feet, the next 55 feet, and the smallest,
35 feet in diameter. Mounds 2, 3 and 4 lie in a straight line
approximately parallel to and about 325 feet distant from
the old Military road.
Between the mounds and the Zimmerman house is a creek
which flows in a general westward direction to Lake Winne-
bago.
This group of mounds was visited and reported on to the
Wisconsin Archeological Society by Charles E. Brown and
Rev. Leopold E. Drexel, on November 23, 1907. A short
distance northwest of the barn on the Zimmerman place
they found another conical mound measuring 40 feet in
diameter. It was situated on the edge of a field and was
jrossed by an east and west farm fence.
^///iv^
nV
'355:
Zimmerman Group
Plate 1
Fond du Lac County Antiquities
BRIGGS GROUP
Fig. 1
This group of conical mounds of which three are dimly
visible, is situated in a cultivated field on the J. W. Briggs
farm in the S. E. quarter of Section 17. Its existence was
reported to the Society by Mr. George M. Brugger, on Nov-
ZO
:zo)
^ence
Fig. 1
ember 24, 1907. These mounds are all so nearly effaced by
long cultivation of the land that it is now impossible to ob-
tain accurate measurements of them. The largest mound
appears to have been about 25 and the others each about
20 feet in diameter. The three mounds are separated from
each other by distances of about 50 feet.
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST
Vol. 14. No. 1
FISCHER GROUP
Fig. 2
A group of four conical mounds, also nearly obliterated by
cultivation, is located on the farm of Ed. Fischer, in the S.
E. quarter of Section 9. Because of their condition no accu-
rate measurements of these mounds could be taken. The
f^ence
1 :
2 ;
3!
^^.f|\»«//i«
/ N ^
£'d /^/sc/?er-
Fig. 2
mounds are located a short distance north of the Fischer
house, on the north side of a ravine and are quite closely
grouped. Mr. Fischer states that No. 3 yielded a necklace
of copper beads and some other relics when explored a num-
ber of years ago.
Fond du Lac County Antiquities
CLAPHAM GROUP
Fig. 3
On the old Clapham farm, in the N. W. quarter of Section
29, is a mound group which consists of one well preserved oval
mound cut in two parts by the fence along the Military road,
and two almost obliterated conical mounds in the adjacent
cultivated field. The mound by the roadside is a fine example
Fig. 3
of the oval mound, and is rather high as compared with its
lateral dimensions. Its diameters are 14 and 32 feet. It is
4 feet high. This mound has not been mulilated by relic
hunters, and favorably situated as it is by the roadside, it
could easily be cleared of the grapevine and weeds and a
descriptive marker placed on it. It is situated within 50
feet of the east and west section line. The two conical
mounds lie a few feet south of it.
10 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14 No.
"DUMB-BELL" GROUP
Plate 2
By far the most unique and interesting group of mounds
observed by the writer in the town of Taycheedah is located
in a thickly wooded area on land recently purchased by E.
Roeder, in the N. W. quarter of Section 16. It was quite by
accident that we located these interesting earthworks, and
so far as can be learned, their presence has never before been
reported to the state society. They are easily accessible to
visitors as the three '*dumb-beH" shaped mounds reach to
within a few feet of the Military road. Reference to the
accompanying plate will show that the group consists of
examples of two distinct classes of earthworks, three of the
mounds being ordinary conical buHal mounds, while the
other three are composite mounds, one in particular re-
sembling in outline the ordinary dumb-bell.
No. 1, which is farthest south, begins with an oval mound
near the Military road, which is 30 x 33 feet and 3 feet high.
Connected with this and extending from it due eastward',
is an embankment 180 feet long, 8 feet wide and 2 J feet high,
and joined to the extreme eastern end of which connecting
ridge is a circular mound 30 feet in diameter and 3 feet high.
Dr. W. G. McLachlan has reported a linear mound of this
type from the Lake Waubesa region, in Dane county (Wis.
Archeo., v. 12, No. 4), and A. B. Stout and H. L. Skavlem
have located a number of examples at Lake Koshkonong
(Wis. Archeo., v. 7, No. 2). It also occurs in a few other
localities in the state.
Ninety feet due north of the last mentioned earthwork
and parallel to it, is a similar aboriginal monument. No. 2.
Again we have a mound, this time circular, near the Military
road, with an embankment 6 feet wide and 2| feet high,
connected with it, and extending due east 200 feet, but w ith-
out any oblong or circular mound at its eastern terminus.
The mound at the west extremity of this embankment is 18
feet in diameter and 2J feet high. Dr. Lapham found this
typeof mound at Racine (Antiquities of Wisconsin), and Stout
and Skavlem have found several examples at Lake Kosh-
konong.
Diim
6^
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v.cSor>i T«/s I u
SO
(iroup
lite 2
Fond du Lac County Antiquities 11
Just north of earthwork No. 2, a wagon trail cuts through
the brush in an easterly direction. Along the north side of
this trail is earthwork No. 3. The west end of this structure
reaches the Military road. It is possible that a mound or
enlargement formerly existed at the west end of this em-
bankment, but if so, it was leveled to make way for the road
when the country was first settled. At the present time,
beginning at the roadside, an embankment 8 feet wide and
2i feet high extends E. S. E. 85 feet where it connects with
a circular mound 18 feet in diameter and 3 feet high. From
the opposite side of this circular mound, the embankment
continues in the same direction for 39 feet where it joins
another circular mound of exactly the same dimensions as
the last. Again from the opposite side of this mound the
embankment continues in the same direction for 35 feet,
gradually becoming lower until it disappears. Lapham has
described this type of mound from Horicon and from the
Wisconsin river region, in Sauk county (Antiquities of Wis-
consin). A. B. Stout and H. L. Skavlem have found it at
Lake Koshkonong. It occurs also in a few other localities
in Wisconsin.
About 25 feet east of the Military road and 90 feet north
of earthwork No. 3, is an oblong burial mound with diam-
eters of 23 X 35 feet and 2| feet, high designated in the plate
as No. 4. Due east from this mound 140 feet, is a circular
burial mound. No. 5, 25 feet in diameter and 2| feet high.
One hundred feet E. N. E. from No. 5 is still another circular
mound. No. 6. This last mound is also 25 feet in diameter
and 2| feet high.
This group of earthworks is decidedly unique and it is a
matter of regret to the author that Mr. Roeder intends to
clear this tract of land during the coming winter and plow
it in the spring of 1915, which will forever obliterate these
interesting ancient Indian memorials. Two acres of land or
less reserved from cultivation would preserve these three
very uncommon mound types, and their accessibility to the
public would make the reservation the more valuable.
12 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14. No.
PEEBLES GROUP
Plate 3
On November 23, 1907, Mr. Charles E. Brown and Rev.
Leopold E. Drexel located and platted a group of mounds
located near Peebles, on the ledge just above the stone
crushing plant and quarry belonging to the C. & N. W. Ry.
Co. Reference to Mr. Brown's plat of that time shows one
panther efTigy and two short linear or oblong mounds in the
group. Diligent search for these mounds by the writer and
his assistant on three different occasions in 1914, failed to
discover them. Much work has been done in this quarry
since 1907, when the mounds were first seen by Messrs.
Brown and Drexel, and the earth strippings from the top
have been hauled back and deposited, making it very prob-
able that the mounds are now buried under this waste.
According to Mr. Brown's plat the panther efTigy measured
90 feet in length. The two linear mounds, located within a
short distance of the efTigy, were each 60 feet long and 25
feet wide. All of the mounds were about 2 feet high at their
highest portions. All were within a short distance of the
quarry edge. In their rear was a strip of woodland.
GRAVEL PIT BURIALS
In the summer of 1914, Donald Scheib uncovered a skele-
ton in a gravel pit on the farm of Math. Michels, in Section
20, Taycheedah township. Only a small portion of the skull
showed in the perpendicular side of the pit, nine feet below
the surface. By digging carefully around the skeleton before
attempting to remove it, the position of the remains was
easily and accurately determined. The body had been laid
on its side and flexed when buried, that is the knees had been
drawn up against the body and the lower part of the legs
drawn back against the thighs. Just above the skeleton was
a layer of clay four inches thick which seemed to have been
burned until it was almost as hard as brick. The larger
bones all crumbled at the touch, only the teeth and the
phalanges of the fingers and toes remaining in good condi-
tion. No implements of any kind were found with this
burial. It is unique to find a skeleton nine feet below the
surface, but this apparently deep burial may be explained
N
»5.
^^
%
Fond du Lac County Antiquities 13
by a possibility that stoppings from the gravel pit were
deposited above the grave in the early days of the settlement.
In the collection of Mr. George M. Brugger, at Fond du
Lac, are several large sea shells which were obtained from
burial sites in this township. One was found in August 1909
in the digging of the basement of a house on the Math.
Michels place. It lay near the remains of some twelve In-
dian skeletons. These were buried at a depth of about 2J
feet "and laid in every direction, some face up, and others
face down, and in one place there must have been at
least four in one hole, and the skeletons laid as if they had
been doubled up when buried."
This shell, a specimen of the helmet shell (Cassis sp.)
measures Uf inches in length. Its width across its widest
portion is 9 inches.
The other shell, a specimen oi F ulg ur perversus was found in
1909 on the Landolff farm, in section 20, at a distance of
about one half mile southwest of the Michels place. It was
found on the surface of a knoll from which it was probably
heaved by the frost. An oval hole has been cut through the
side of this shell.
Mr. Brugger is also the owner of an engraved shell gorget,
which was found near the school house, in the N. W.
quarter of the N. E. quarter of Section 20. It is made
from a portion cut from the side of a large sea shell.
Its length is 2| inches and its greatest width 5J inches.
Near its upper edge are two small perforations. All
of these specimens are described and figured in the
Wisconsin Archeologist (v. 12, No. 2). Mr. Brugger
states that another large shell was found on land owned by
a Mrs. Brush, in the southern part of Section 29, or on Sec-
tion 32. It was found in a crevice in the limestone rock at a
depth of about 4 feet beneath the surface of the soil.
MISCELLANEOUS ANTIQUITIES
An Indian camp and workshop site was reported by Mr.
Charles E. Brown, in 1907, as existing on the Wm. Wald-
schmidt farm in Section 3, about a mile west of Eggersville
in the town of Taycheedah. Fragments of pottery and flint
flakes and fragments left by the Redmen are plentiful at
this place.
14 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 1
Conical mounds were reported to Messrs. Brown and
Drexel, in 1907, as located on the White and Duffy farms,
in the N. E. quarter of the S. W. quarter of Section 29, the
line fence between the two farms cutting one mound in
two. The writer has not seen this group.
In 1901, indications of a village site and traces of an old
portage which extended over the ledge from the lake by a
winding trail to the headwaters of the Sheboygan river were
said to be visible at Goutermouts bay on what is now the
Michels farm. This was reported by Dr. Alphonse Gerend,
in 1901. Shell and refuse heaps are said to have formerly
existed here, on the lake shore.
EMPIRE TOWNSHIP.
ACADEMY HILL MOUND
On the Zoellner farm in the N. W. quarter of the S. W.
quarter of Section 8, beside the Division street road, near
the top of the high hill at St. Mary's Springs Academy, is a
single panther efrig>\ The tail of the figure has been cut
away in making excavations for the roadway, but the re-
maining portion (the body) is 65 feet long and 25 feet wide
at its widest part. This location is picturesque beyond des-
cription. Lake Winnebago, like an immense sheet of silver,
spreads away to the right, while the city of Fond du Lac,
three miles distant and hundreds of feet below, with the
fertile prairies surrounding it on every side, can be seen in
detail. Except for the city, the fenced fields and the roads,
it is not probable that the scene to-day differs greatly from
that which greeted the eye of the savage a century or more
ago. Beautiful now, it must have been even more enchant-
ing then, when the wild flowers covered the prairies like a
many-hued carpet.
•t3 c
Fond du Lac County Antiquities
LEONARD MILL GROUP
Fig. 4
This group of three mounds is on the Leonard farm, in the
N. E. quarter of the N. E. quarter of Section 18. The
mounds he 700 feet east and slightly north of the mill pond,
and were so badly mutilated by relic hunters years ago, that
it is now difficult to determine their exact character. The
Fig. 4
larger mound (No. 1) is 70 feet long and has the appearance
of an effigy, but where the projections occur on eacn side, a
large hole has been dug in the middle between each pair of
arms, and it is possible that these arms or projections are
formed by the dirt that was thrown out of the excavations
years ago, and has now become sodded over so that it has
the same appearance as the rest of the mound.
No. 2 is circular in form, 16 feet in diameter and about 2
feet high. Mound No. 3 is somewhat heart-shaped and
notched on the west end, but this mound was also excavated
years ago, and its outlines may have been considerably
altered at that time.
16 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 1
DE NEVEU MOUNDS
On the DeNeveu farm, in the N. E. quarter of Section 31,
and due east from DeNeveu lake, there were formerly nine
circular mounds, but they have now entirely disappeared.
They were located on top of the ledge between the DeNeveu
homestead and the school-house. Miss Emily DeNeveu
pointed out to the writer, the site of their location, but no
evidence of them now remains.
MARSHFIELD TOWNSHIP
ST. CLOUD GROUP
Plate 5
Just west of the village of St. Cloud on the banks of the
Sheboygan river, is an interesting group of Indian antiqui-
ties consisting of mounds, garden beds and cache pits. These
cover a considerable area of land that has never been dis-
turbed by cultivation, but has been used for years as a pic-
nic ground. Dr. A. Gerend, who located this group in 1906,
reports that he found evidence of a village site on the oppo-
site side of the river, on the John Klinzing place, in the S. E.
quarter of Section 26. This was not visited by the writer.
There are in this group,, six oval mounds and one effigy, three
cache pits and two large garden bed areas, the sodded rows
in the latter being as distinct as if they had been abandoned
only a few years ago. Several of the mounds have been
opened and a human skeleton is reported to have been taken
from one of them. As a whole, the earthworks of this group
are well preserved. This site is located on the convex and
northern side of a sharp bend in the Sheboygan river. A
narrow strip of low marshy land lies between the bank of the
river and the higher land on which the earthworks are built.
The six oval burial mounds of this group are ordinary
examples of their class and do not demand special descrip-
tion. Their dimensions are shown in Plate 5. No. 5 is an
effigy of the familiar turtle form but lacking the long caudal
appendage common to many examples. The three cache
pits are located in the southeast corner of the area just above
Fond du Lac County Antiquities 17
high water level and differ considerably in size, the smallest
one being nearest to the river.
The most striking feature of this group of evidences of
aboriginal occupation is the large garden bed area, which is
divided into two unequal patches or fields. The ridges or
rows average about seven feet apart and are from 100 feet
in length in the smaller field, to 150 feet in the larger area.
In the smaller field, the rows are straight, while in the larger,
they are for the most part broken. The Sheboygan riter at
this place was probably a much wider stream a century or
more ago than it is at present and the marshy strip that now
borders it was probably a part of the river bed at that time.
This group of earthworks is easily accessible to visitors,
being only a few minutes walk from the St. Cloud station.
There seems to be no immediate danger that these interest-
ing early Indian memorials will be destroyed by cultivation.
The site is in a wooded pasture.
OSCEOLA TOWNSHIP
LONG LAKE GROUP
Fig. 5 ^
The existence of this group of mounds was first mentioned
in the Western Historical Co's. History of Fond du Lac
County, published in 1880. It is located in the S. E. quarter
of Section 12. The writer uses the words "is located" rather
guardedly, as very little evidence of these antiquities remains
at the present time. The plow has leveled them year after
year, and large quantities of bones have been brought to the
surface. The mounds have now so nearly disappeared that
no measurements of them can be given.
ROUND LAKE MOUND
Fig. 6
On the isthmus over which the wagon road passes between
Round and Mud lakes, in the N. W. quarter of Section 27,
18 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST
Vol. 14 No.
there is a single large burial mound which was formerly four
fl> 30
Fond du Lac County Antiquities 19
feet high, but is now almost leveled by cultivation. Bones
are still occasionally brought to the surface as the nar-
row strip is plowed and replowed. About one mile west of
this mound, at the first cross-roads, is a gravel pit from which
a human skeleton was recovered in the spring of 1914.
Round lake is one of the strikingly beautiful lakes of which
the eastern part of Fond du Lac county boasts, and it was
probably a favorite camping place for the aborigines.
BYRON TOWNSHIP
BYRON GROUP
Plate 8
This group of six mounds, probably the most striking
within the confmes of Fond du Lac county, is located on land
now owned by Louis Luedtke, in the S. E. quarter of the N.
E. quarter of Section 36, in the extreme southeast corner of
the town of Byron, and adjoining a much traveled public
highway. Four of these mounds are in a pasture that has
never been plowed, while the other two are in an adjoining
cultivated field and have been more or less mutilated by the
tilling of the soil.
This group was visitod by the Messrs. Charles E. Brown
and Rev. Leopold E. Drexel, under the guidance of Mr.
George M. Brugger, of Fond -"u Lac, on November 24, 1907,
and afterward reported by them to the Wisconsin Archeo-
logical Society. Tne illustration shown in Plate 8, is from
the plat o. the mounds prepared by these gentlemen. The
property was then known as the F. Nye place.
The mounds are located but a short distance north of the
source of the west branch of the Milwaukee river. Of the
earthworks one is a conical burial mound, two are bird
effigies, two panther effigies and one a tapering linear earth-
work. One of the bird-shaped mounds is peculiar in pos-
sessing a broad fan-shaped tail and comparatively short
wings. Bird effigies of similar form have been located in
other southern Wisconsin groups. The other bird is of the
ordinary form. The two panther effigies are peculiar among
the great number of effigies of this form found in this state
in having the paws of the animal distinctly outlined. The
20 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 1
larger of the two has a tail having the quite remarkable
length of about 225 feet. The mounds in this group are sep-
arated from each other by only short distances.
Doubtless evidences of an aboriginal village site are to be
found in the vicinity of this group. The Byron group is one
of those significant evidences of the prehistoric Indian occu-
pation of Wisconsin for the permanent preservation of which
in the interest of history and education the state should make
proper provision.
LAMARTINE TOWNSHIP
SEVEN MILE CREEK EFFIGY
This panther eflfigy is located on the farm of Fred. W.
Smith, in the S. W. quarter of Section 26. It is soUtary. If
other mounds formerly existed in the adjoining cultivated
field, they have been obliterated by long years of plowing
and harrowing. The tail of this effigy formerly extended into
the cultivated field, and this portion of it has thus been en-
tirely leveled. The portion of the body and tail still re-
maining measures 60 feet in length. It is on high land
sloping gently to a pond of considerable size that always
contains water, while still lower and farther away, Seven
Mile creek can be seen meandering through the valley.
CALUMET TOWNSHIP
BURIAL PLACES
Plate 9
According to information secured for the Wisconsin Arch-
eological Society by Dr. Gerend, a large number of Indian
skeletons have been disinterred from the gravel hills south
of Calumet Harbor and at Calumetville. With these burials
a large number of stone and copper implements and a num-
ber of pottery vessels were found. The burial places at
Calumetville he describes as shallow pits from 2 to 4 feet in
diameter and depth. They are exposed by workmen digging
in the gravel pits. When so exposed they are found to be
Fond du Lac County Antiquities 21
filled with black top soil in which are fragments of charcoal,
ashes and human bones. In Plate 9, an illustration is given
of one of these burial pits. The graves are indicated by the
dark areas. These pits are frequently only a few feet apart.
A few years ago, 36 skeletons were unearthed within three
days in a gravel pit belonging to Miss Barker. One skeleton
had a copper necklace scattered around the bones of the
neck. This is now in the collection of George Burg, to-
gether with a copper spear, a pottery pipe, a stone pipe, sev-
eral pottery vessels, and other relics.
The above all accompanied pit burials. A small round hole
or well two or three feet in diameter and from three to seven
feet deep was dug and in this the flexed body was placed in
a sitting posture. There was some evidence that fire had
be^n used in these pits.
In Dr. Gerend's collection there is a pottery vessel which
was obtained from a gravel pit on the Philip Ebhng place,
about one mile south of Calumet Harbor. It was broken
when obtained but has been restored. This vessel is des-
cribed in the Wisconsin Archeologist (v. 4, No. 1, p. 20).
It has a "body of a globular shape, with a poUshed surface
and undulate expanding rim. It is made of a black shell-
tempered material, and is ornamented at the shoulder with
a zigzag pattern of incised lines. It is 4 inches in height."
The extreme diameter of the body is 6 inches. Another
vessel from this same pit, in the Rudolph Kuehne collection,
at Sheboygan, is described as of "lenticular, flask-like shape,
surmounted by the head of an effigy, probably intended to
represent a turtle. The opening of this vessel is circular,
about 1| inches in diameter, and is situated back of the head.
There are incised ornamental lines along the border. The
material is shell-tempered. The measurements are: height,
3 inches; diameter, 4i inches." (See Plate 10). Several pot-
tery pipes and copper ornaments were found with burials
in this pit.
Other gravel banks that have yielded skeletal remains
and relics are those on the Seibert and the Peter Weinreis
places.
22 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 1
LOEHR MOUNDS
On the Edward Loehr farm, in the S. W. quarter of the S.
E. quarter of Section 26, just south of Calumet Harbor or
Pipe Village, are two large conical burial mounds. Dr. Ger-
end gives their diameters as 40 and 53 feet. They are from
3 to 4 feet high. One is figured in the Wisconsin Archeolo-
gist (v. 8, No. 4, PI. 1). In an adjacent field he reports an
earthwork in the shape of a large semi-circle. He states that
its walls are very distinct on the west and south sides, where
they measure 12 feet across. The east side of the wall is less
distinct. The space enclosed by this semi-circle is about 250
feet in diameter.
KALT MOUNDS
About one mile south of Calumet Harbor, on the prop-
erty of Anton Kalt, and on the property of his neighbor on
the opposite side of the lake shore road. Dr. Gerend, located
a series of seven circular mounds measuring from 18 to 48
feet in diameter and from 1^ to 4 feet in height.
FOND DU LAC TOWNSHIP
There were formerly a number of mound groups in this
township, but most of the land has been so long under cul-
tivation that practically all of these have disappeared.
SPALDING MOUND
A circular burial mound was formerly located several
hundred feet south of the west branch of the Fond du Lac
river and about the same distance east of the Wisconsin
Central Ry. tracks, in the block at the northwest corner of
Superior and Tompkins streets. Its existence was reported
to the state society by Edmund M. Spalding, a civil engi-
neer, in 1905. This vicinity was occupied by a considerable
Indian village a hundred years ago when the fur traders
were spending the winters at the trading post in Fond du
Lac.
©
Byron Group
Plate 8
Fond du Lac County Antiquities 23
DE NEVEU CREEK MOUND
A conical burial mound was reported by G. M. Brugger,
in 1907, to exist on the west side of DeNeveu Creek, just
east of the city limits of Fond du Lac, in the west half of Sec-
tion 13. He states that there were indications of an Indian
camp and workshop site at the same place.
FOND DU LAC VILLAGE
In 1829, there was a large Winnebago Indian village in the
city of Fond du Lac, just below the Forest avenue bridge,
on the west branch of the Fond du Lac river. It is mentioned
by Morgan L. Martin, who passed by it on his way to Prairie
du Chien (W. H. Colls., v. 11, p. 400).
Just when the Indians fmally deserted this village is not
definitely known, but in 1834, the government surveyors
found it abandoned.
FOND DU LAC CACHE
On July 28, 1913, a cache or hoard of 21 copper implements
was found by workmen engaged in excavating for a residence
at the northeast corner of Hickory and Poplar streets, in the
western part of the city of Fond du Lac. Sixteen spear-
points and one awl were found together at a depth of 2J
feet below the surface. About 8 inches below this deposit
were found three copper pikes and a copper socket. The
three pikes measure 11, 13^ and 14| inches in length.
This remarkable hoard of copper implements was secured
for tne State Historical Museum, at Madison, by tne writer.
A full description of it written by himself, was printed in a
recent issue of the Wisconsin Archeologist (v. 13, No. 2, PI.
3).
24 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No.
FRIENDSHIP TOWNSHIP
GAMP SITES
An Indian camp or village site is located on both banks of
a small creek which empties into Lake Winnebago on Lot 2,
Section 16. From this site, which was reported on to the
Society by Mr. George M. Brugger, in 1912, he has collected a
number of stone celts, fragments of stone ornaments and
ceremonials, potsherds, hammerstones and flint implements.
A similar site is reported by him as located on the A. Gens-
mer farm, on the shore of Lake Winnebago, in about the
center of Section 28. A small stream known as "Anderson's"
creek enters the lake at this place. Net weights, celts and
flint implements have been collected here. The stones from
old fireplaces and flint chips and fragments are scattered over
this site.
In the next section to the south (33) there is a creek known
as "Mosher's" creek. On both sides of its mouth evidences
of a camp site have been found by Mr. Brugger. From this
site he has collected a stone chisel, an axe and a number of
flint arrow and spearpoints. The ground is covered in places
with flint chips and potsherds.
WAUPUN TOWNSHIP
WEIR EFFIGY
Mr. B. W. Davis, of Waupun prepared for the Wisconsin
Archeological Society (1914) a detail plat of a panther efTigy
which is located on the farm of James Weir, on tne north
bank of the Rock river, in Section 34.
This specimen, which is of the common form with a long
straight tail, measures 144 feet in length. The width of the
body at its front limb is 31 feet and at its rear limb, 32 J feet.
Its direction is south 29 degrees west.
> ^
Fond du Lac County Antiquities 25
LOCATIONS NOT INVESTIGATED
The following mound groups and village sites have been
reported by others as existing in Fond du Lac county, but
have not as yet been mapped or fully described. The writer
regrets that he was unable, for lack of time, to visit all these
locations, as most if not all of them are worthy of careful
study. It is hoped that this may be done in the near future.
Mounds on the east branch of the Milwaukee river, in
Section 26, of the town of Auburn, near New Fane village.
Mounds on the Martin Van Dorstan farm, in the S. E.
quarter of Section 10, town of Forest. Reported by Dr. A.
Gerend, 1906.
Mounds on the bank of Wolf lake, adjoining the old hotel
site in S. E. quarter of Section 10, town of Marshfield. Re-
ported by Dr. A. Gerend, 1906.
EfTigy mound and some smaller mounds on the road from
St. Cloud to Calvary, located in the N. E. quarter of Section
34, town of Marshfield. Reported by Dr. A. Gerend, 1906.
Garden beds on the V. Brenner farm, in the S. E. quarter
of Section 31, town of Marshfield. Reported by Dr. A Ger-
end, in 1906.
Gravel pit burials in the S. E. quarter of Section 36, town of
Marshfield. A large skeleton and a cache of large chipped
flint spear heads were found in this gravel pit according to
Dr. A. Gerend (1906).
In July, 1908, a skeleton was uncovered in the Huber
gravel pit on the Division street road, about two miles east
of Fond du Lac and just below the ledge. The workmen
reported the skeleton as having been buried in a "sitting
position" which probably means that the body was flexed
and then placed in an upright position in a pit grave.
A group of mounds was reported by Dr. J. R. Barnett,
in 1906, to exist east of Eldorado Mills. Some were effigies
and some burial mounds, which were excavated. They were
well known to the early settlers, but are now obUterated.
One of the old Green Bay and Portage trails passed near this
group of mounds.
The following sites of prehistoric activity are reported from
the township of Ripon, in the northwestern part of Fond du
Lac county:
26 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 1
Camp or village site near Silver creek, on the Clapp (West)
farm, east of Ripon.
In the northern part of Ripon township, near Rush lake,
there are a number of effigy mounds. These are mentioned
in the Western Historical Go's. History of Fond du Lac
County, published in 1880.
Group of burial mounds reported as located in Section 17,
near the old village of Ceresco, in the town of Ripon. Ac-
cording to information obtained by Rev. S. T. Kidder for
the Wisconsin Archeological Society, these have been oblit-
erated. They were located a short distance north of the
C. & N. W. Ry. track, on the line from Ripon to Dartford,
northeast of the Ripon city limits.
A group of effigy mounds is reported to exist in Section 26,
just west of Brandon in the township of Metomen. These
are briefly described and figured by Rev. S. D. Peet (Prehis.
America, v. 2, pp. 274-275).
REMARKS
Exhaustive archeological surface surveys of but a few
Wisconsin counties have been made. In others where sys-
tematic field-work has been undertaken the existence of
unrecorded mound groups, of camp and village sites, plant-
ing grounds and of other prehistoric or historic Indian re-
mains, are constantly being reported. These have never
been known beyond the confines of the agricultural commun-
ities in which they occur. Persons having a knowledge of
the present or former location of such remains in parts of
Fond du Lac county, which the author has not yet been able
to reach, are requested to communicate such information as
they may possess to the author, at Fond du Lac, or to the
Secretary of the Wisconsin Archeological Society, at Madi-
son.
Archeological studies should claim the interest of many
of the youth now growing into manhood. There is no more
inviting field for research open to intelligent young men than
that which endeavors by means of careful investigation of
surface and buried indications, to reconstruct the life history
of primitive man.
3
O
» <
Fond du Lac County Antiquities 27
Residents of Fond du Lac county, who have it in their
power to assist, owe it to their fellow citizens to preserve
and to protect some of the fine Indian earthworks and other
ancient Indian monuments which occur within its boundar-
ies. In other counties in the state this is now being done;
individual owners, local organizations and communities co-
operating in saving and marking such remains for the good
of the present and future citizens of the commonwealth.
28 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOCIIST Vol. 14 No. 1
WISCONSIN INDIAN MEDALS
Charles E. Brown
The Spanish, French, British and American governments
all coined medals for presentation to the Indians. These
were given to the chiefs and leading warriors for the purpose
of rewarding their service and securing or retaining their
allegiance. They served to gratify the love of the savages for
white man's finery and appealed to them as emblems of
fealty or chieftainship. They appear to have been greatly
valued by their Indian owners.
In the Handbook of American Indians, in Beauchamp's
Metallic Ornaments of the New York Indians, and in a num-
ber of other works, descriptions and illustrations of numer-
ous Indian medals are given.
The earlier Indian medals are for various reasons now
quite rare. Chief among the causes for their disappearance
there is mentioned the successive governments under which
the Indians were then living. Each government caused a
search to be made for and replaced with its own the medals
issued by its predecessor. Undoubtedly not a few medals
were purchased by the early silversmiths who converted the
metal into other ornaments.
Elizabeth T. Baird in her Reminiscences of Early Days on
Mackinac Island, mentions the silver ornaments worn by
the Indian chiefs and says: "The Indians in their usual
improvident manner, would, on their long journey to Cana-
da, get out of provisions and gladly offer the silver ornaments
received the previous year, in exchange for bread and pota-
toes; they never cared for meat. Purchasers of this silver
were plentiful, and much of it afterwards found its way into
the white man's melting pot." (W. H. Colls., XIV, pp. 18-
19).
It is also certain that many medals were buried with their
owners. In Wisconsin very few of these have yet been re-
covered.
Wisconsin Indian Medals 29
Cardinal Richelieu is reported to have caused a medal to
be struck for presentation to Canadian Indians in 1631.
Mention is made of a French medal which was in the pos-
session of a Caughnawaga chief, in 1670. In 1693, a medal
was issued by the French in commemoration of the then
reigning king of France. This proved so acceptable to the
Indians that others bearing the busts of Louis XIV and
Louis XV were afterwards coined. The first medals pre-
sented to the natives by the American colonies were issued
under the Laws of Virginia, of March, 1661. These bore the
bust of Charles XI of England. Medals bearing tne busts
of other British sovereigns were afterwards made both in
England and the colonies. The first Indian medal struck by
the United States was issued in 1780. One of the most in-
teresting of the early United States medals is said to be that
presented by Washington to the celebrated Seneca chief,
Red Jacket, in 1792.
A pewter medal bearing a likeness of Washington was
presented by the Government to the Indians participating
in the treaty held at Fort Harmar, in Ohio, in 1789. Peace
medals bearing likenesses of all of the succeeding presidents
were afterwards issued and continue to be issued up to the
present time.
The early missionaries and fur trading companies also
issued medals to the Indians. Examples of these have been
found in Indian graves and on Indian village sites.
WISCONSIN REFERENCES
The following are some of the references occurring in Wis-
consin historical records of the presentation and wearing of
medals by the Indians of the Old Northwest.
At a council held at Quebec, in 1742, with representatives
of the Sioux, Sauk, Fox, Winnebago, Chippewa and Meno-
minee tribes, the Marquis de Beauharnois, Governor Gen-
eral of New France, presented medals to the chiefs Pemoussa
and Patchipac, and promised others to the Winnebago
chiefs, Serotchon and Chelaouis. To the latter Indians he
said:
"I am very sorry I have no more medals. Had I any I
would have conferred that token of honor upon you because
I am pleased with you. It will be done next year." In
30 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. I
Papers from the Canadian Archives, 1767-1814, mention of
Indian medals is made.
In a letter addressed to Captain De Peyster, October 6,
1776, there occurs a mention of the sending of "two medals
and a Gorget for chiefs." In a statement of an outfit com-
monly given to Indians the following occurs:
"To a Chief from the upper Country
1 pair of Arm bands
1 Medal with 2| yds. ribbon, if he has none
1 Gorget, with 2^ yds. ribbon, if he has none
1 Chiefs Gun or Rifle, if they are in want of it, or ask it
3J yds. fine cloth for a blanket, leggings and lap
2i yds. linen for a shirt
1 knife
4 flints
1 gun worm
1 pair shoes
1 blanket of 3 points
1 laced hat
2 lbs. gunpowder
8 lbs. ball and shot
1 tomahawk
18 yds. ribbon
I lb. vermilUon
12 pair ear bobs
300 brooches
1 brass or tin kettle."
Elsewhere, under the heading of "Instructions for Dis-
tributing Indian Presents" mention is made of "a canoe
w^hich has been detained for the conveyance of medals, silver-
works and flags." These were from Montreal and were in-
tended for the Indians at Green Bay and the Mississippi.
(W. H. Colls., XII, pp. 40, 102, 118, 120, and 123.)
In an account of the life of Robert Dickson, the British
trader, in the same volume (p. 140) mention is made of "flags,
one dozen large medals, with gorgets, and a few small ones"
to be sent to St. Josephs. This bears the date of June 18,
1812. In November of that year, he was appointed agent
to the Indians west of the Mississippi, being provided at
Montreal with "six silk flags and five large medals with gor-
gets, to be given to the principal chief of each nation."
(p. 143).
Wisconsin Indian Medals 31
Gen. Cass mentions the dress of a Chippewa chief whom
he saw at St. Marie, in 1820, as consisting of an "eagle's
feather, bears grease, vermiUion and indigo, red British
mihtary coat, with two enormous, epaulettes, a large British
silver medal, breech clout, leggings and moccasins." (W. H.
Colls., V.)
Thomas L. McKenney, in his Sketches of a Tour to the
Lakes, 1827, mentions an Indian as wearing a British medal
(p. 313). Albert G. Ellis, in an account of the treaty at
Butte des Morts, in 1827, says:
"It was at this treaty, that Oshkosh, the present head
Chief of the Menominees, was first recognized. After the
Council was open, Gov. Cass said: "We have observed for
some time the Menominees to be in a bad situation as to
their chiefs. There is no one we can talk to as the head of
the nation. If anything should happen, we want some man,
who has authority in the nation, that we can look to. You
appear like a flock of geese, without a leader, some fly one
way and some another. Tomorrow, at the opening of the
Council, we shall appoint a principal chief of the Menomp-
nees. We shall make inquiry this afternoon, and try to
select the proper man. We shall give him the medal, and
expect the Menominees to respect him." (W. H. Colls.,
II, p. 430.)
Bishop Jackson Kemper speaks of Old Wing, an old chief,
whom he saw at Mackinac, in 1834, as wearing a "round hat
with a silver band, a large medal on his breast, etc." Big
Wave, a Menominee chief, from Sturgeon Bay, whom he
met at Green Bay, wore a "regimental coat and a large
medal of Washington." (W. H. Colls., XIV, pp. 411-424.)
A portrait of Souligny, a prominent Menominee chief, in
the State Historical Museum, painted by Samuel M. Brookes,
shows this chief wearing two large silver medals.
In T. P. Wentworth's Early Life Among the Indians, an
illustration is given of the Wisconsin Chippewa delegation
which visited President Lincoln, in 1862. A number of the
chiefs are shown wearing large silver medals.
32 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No.
MEDALS IN WISCONSIN COLLECTIONS
SPANISH MEDALS
1. This specimen was found at Prairie du Chien in an In-
dian grave, in 1864, and is now in the collection of the State
Historical Museum, at Madison. According to the record
accompanying it this interesting medal is "supposed to have
been given to Huisconsin, a Sauk and Fox chief." It is said
to be an example of the regular "service medals" awarded
by Spain to members of her army.
Obverse, bust of king to left; legend, Carolus III Rey deEspana e de las
Indias. Reverse, within a cactus wreath, Por Merito. Silver, size, 2|
inches, with perforation for suspension. Weight, about 2 ounces.
This medal is much worn having the appearance of long use. The legend
"Por Merito" is very indistinct.
BRITISH MEDALS
2. A British medal in the State Historical Museum, comes
from Ontario county. New York. It was presented by the
late Byron Andrews, of Evansville, Wisconsin.
1714. Brass. Obverse, bust of king to right, laureated, with flowing
hair, in armor, draped; legend, George, King of Great Britian. Reverse,
an Indian at right drawing his bow on a deer, standing at left on a hill, sun
above, to right above tree one star, to left above Indian three stars. Size,
111 inches, with loop for suspension (broken). Weight, ^ ounce.
Medals of this pattern are said to have been issued dur-
ing the reigns of George I, and George II, in brass and cop-
per, in sizes of IJ and If inches.
3. Another British medal was presented to the State His-
torical Museum by W. R. Durfee. It is said to have been
presented to a Wisconsin chief by the British government.
1775. Silver. Obverse, bust of the king, to left, with hair curled, in
armor, wearing ribbon of the Garter; legend, Georgius III Dei Gratia. Re-
verse, the royal arms with supporters; surmounted by crown and ribbon
of the Garter; below ribbon with motto, Dieu et Mon Droit. Size, 3 inches,
with small perforation for suspension. Weight, 4 ounces.
This style of Indian medal, it is stated, was presented to
chiefs for meritorious service, possibly until replaced by
those of 1814. (Handbook of Am. Indians, Pt. 1, p. 833).
Wisconsin Indian Medals 33
4. An equally fine specimen of the foregoing medal is
owned by a Madison lady. It was obtained from a Wiscon-
sin Indian by her grandfather, Mr. F. A. Wright, of Oshkosh,
who traded with the Indians in the region between his home
and Lake Superior. It is of the same size as the other speci-
men. The silver loop for suspension is present. Weight, 3
ounces.
5. A second George III medal in the State Museum differs
from the foregoing in being made of two disks of sheet silver
placed back to back and bound along the edge with a narrow
rim of the same metal. Size, 3 inches. Weight, 2§ ounces.
The designs on the obverse and reverse are the same as those
on the other medal.
This medal has the following interesting history. During
the Civil War, when it was thought that England might side
with the Confederacy, our Indian agents were ordered to
search for foreign medals among the tribes, demand their
surrender and give American medals in their stead. This
medal is one of several then obtained among the Wisconsin
Menominee by Indian agent M. M. Davis. This particular
medal is the one presented by Governor Frederick Haldi-
mand, of Canada, to the Menominee chief, Chawanon
(Shawano). It was presented to him at a general council
held at Montreal, August 17, 1778, at which representatives
of the Sioux, Sauk, Fox, Menominee, Winnebago, Ottawa,
Pottawatomi and Chippewa tribes, were present. It is
generally supposed that at this time the presentation of
medals took place in consideration of the assistance rendered
to the British by these tribes in the campaigns in Kentucky
and Illinois and during the War of the Revolution. Gov-
ernor Haldimand, commander in chief of the British forces
in Canada, also gave a certificate with each medal conferred.
The certificate of Chawanon, as Grand Chief of the Menomi-
nee, is preserved in the manuscript collections of the State
Historical Society of Wisconsin. It is figured in Volume
XVIII of the Wisconsin Historical Collections and also in the
Fourteenth Annual Report of the American Bureau of Eth-
nology. This declaration appears in both EngUsh and French
on the certificate:
'To Chawanon Grand Chief of the Folks Avoines:
In consideration of the fidelity, zeal and attachment,
testified by Chawanon, Grand Chief of the Folles Avoines to
84 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 1
the King's Government, and by virtue of the power and
authority in me vested, I do hereby confirm the said Chawa-
non Grand Chief of the Folks Avoines aforesaid having be-
stowed upon him the Great Medal, wiUing all and singular
the Indians, Inhabitants thereof, to obey him as Grand
Chief, and all OfTicers and others in his Majesty's Service
to treat him accordingly. Given under my hand and Seal
at Arms, at Montreal this Seventeenth Day of August, One
thousand seven hundred and seventy Eight in the Eighteenth
Year of the Reign of our Soverign Lord George the Third,
by the Grace of God of Great Britian, France and Ireland,
King, Defender of the Faith and so Forth."
Fred Haldimand,
Bv his Excellency's command.
E. Foy.
This chief, whose name is also given as Chakachokama,
"was known to the Creoles of Green Bay as 'The Old King'."
Dr. W. J. Hoffman gives his Indian name as Tsheka tshake
mau or Sheka ttshokwe mau. According to Dr. R. G.
Thwaites, his village was located "on the west side of the
Fox river, just above Fort Howard," at Green Bay. "The
name given in his certificate is the French form of Shawnee."
He was the grandfather of the Chief Oshkosh. He died in
1821 while on a visit to Prairie du Chien. He was highly
esteemed by the members of his tribe. (See W. H. Colls.,
Ill, p. 226; XVIII, p. 369-370; 14 Rep. Bu. Am. Ethno.
p. 45; Handbook Am. Ind., p. 833.)
6. Another George III silver medal was presented to the
state museum by the late Horace Beach, of Prairie du Chien.
He purchased it from a Wisconsin Indian, in 1882. It is
probable that it was buried in an Indian grave or elsewhere.
Its surface is so badly corroded that only the general out-
line of the designs on its face can be distinguished. The
design on its reverse differs from the two medals described
in showing a central shield, crowned, instead of the British
coat of arms. The encircling ribbon of the Garter is absent.
Size, 27 inches. Weight, 2J ounces.
Wisconsin Indian Medals 35
AMERICAN MEDALS
7. At the treaty at Fort Harmar in Ohio, in 1789, the
American government presented a medal to the Indians
present. The tribes represented at this treaty were the
Ottawa, Delaware, Huron, Sauk, Pottawattomie, and Chip-
pewa.
1789. Pewter. Obverse, bust of Washington, with full face, legend,
George Washington the Father of Our Country. Reverse, at top. Friendship,
with six stars on each side, at bottom. The Pipe of Peace; in inner circle,
wreath enclosing clasped hands, 1789, and crossed wands. Size, 2yV inches,
milled edge. Weight, 2| ounces.
This specimen, now in the State Historical Museum, was
obtained by Thomas R. Roddy from Fish Tail Lincoln, a
Wisconsin Winnebago Indian ninety years of age, residing
on the Winnebago reservation, in Nebraska. It became the
property of the museum in 1911.
8. In the collection of Mr. Joseph Ringeisen, Jr., the well-
known Milwaukee collector, there is a specimen of the Wash-
ington medal which was found by a Mr. Edward Jennings,
at a place about three miles north of Aurora, Lawrence
county, Missouri. An illustration of this medal appears as
the frontispiece of this publication.
9. A John Quincy Adams medal in the State Historical
Museum, was formerly in the N. H. Terens collection, at
Mishicott, Wisconsin. It was obtained from an Indian
grave in Charlton township, Kewaunee county.
1825. Silver. Obverse, bust of John Quincy Adams to right; legend,
John Quincy Adams President of the United States 1825. Reverse, crossed
calumet and tomahawk, clasped hands of white and Indian; legend. Peace
and Friendship. Size, 2| inches. Weight, 3 ounces.
Medals of this style are said to have been coined for pre-
sentation to Indian chiefs during the administration of all
of the presidents from Jefferson to until the administration
of Millard Fillmore, in 1880, when the design on the reverse
was entirely changed.
10. In the Milwaukee Public Museum there is a specimen
of the Millard Fillmore Indian medal. It bears the date
1850. It is of the same metal, design, and size as the John
36 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 1
Quincy Adams medal, except that the design on the reverse
side is different.
Reverse. An Indian in war costume and a pioneer in foreground, the latter
leaning on a plow; to right a hill, in center background, a river and a
sailing boat; to left, two cows beyond a farmhouse; American flag back
of the figures; legend, Laftor, Virtue, Honor; in exergue, J.Wilson.
This specimen was presented to the museum by Mr.
Charles L. Mann of Milwaukee, in 1910.
Undoubtedly other Indian medals exist in collections and
in private hands in Wisconsin. Members and friends of
the state society are requested to inform the writer of sucn
specimens in order that they may be examined and des-
criptions of them obtained.
Archeological Notes 37
ARCHEOLOGICAL NOTES
The annual meeting of the Wisconsin Archeological Society was held
in the lecture room of the Milwaukee Public Museum, on Monday evening,
March 15. Vice-president Dr. Orrin Thompson conducted the meeting.
There were thirty members and a number of visitors in attendance. The
annual reports of Treasurer Whitney, of Secretary Brown and of the State
Survey Committee were received. Officers for the ensuing year were
chosen. Their names appear at the beginning of this issue of the bulletin.
A vote of thanks was extended to the retiring president and vice-presidents.
The program of the evening consisted of a talk on the subject of Indian
corn by Mr. M. L. Wilson, of the University of Montana; a paper on
"Wisconsin Indian Medals," by Secretary Brown, and a paper by Mr.
H. P. Hamilton on "Copper Implements," read by Mr. Whitney. Mr.
G. A. West exhibited a collection of potsherds from Cherokee village sites,
near Tryon, North Carolina and explained their character and ornamenta-
tion. Mr. Skavlem gave an account of his experiences in conducting re-
searches at Lake Ripley, Rock lake and elsewhere. At the close of the
meeting, Mr. W. A. Phillips exhibited an interesting series of copper im-
plements recently acquired by himself.
At a meeting of the Executive Board held earlier in the day, resolutions
on the death of Rt. Rev. J. J. Fox, of Green Bay, a charter member of the
Society, were adopted. Mr. Ben F. Faast, of Eau Claire, was elected to
membership.
Annual members of the Society, recently elected by the Executive
Board, are Mr. H. F. Franke, Milwaukee; Mr. Ben F. Faast, Eau Claire;
Mr. Robert McFarlane, Waupun; Mr. A. M. May. Waukon, Iowa, and
Mr. Ray S. Owen, Mr. Whitney N. Seymour, and Mr. Stewart Turneaure,
Madison.
The death at Chicago, on March 14, of Bishop J. J. Fox, of Green Bay,
removes from the rolls of the Wisconsin Archeological Society one of its
most devoted friends. Having been one of its charter members the good
Bishop was personally acquainted with many of its members. He was
well acquainted with many of the old Indian sites on the shores of Green
Bay. Although at all times a very busy man. Bishop Fox never lost his
active interest in the work of the state society.
The 1915 meeting of the American Association of Museums will be held
at San Francisco, on July 6-8. The meetings will be held in rotation
among the museums of that city, formal visits being made to Oakland,
Berkeley, and other places. Information concerning this meeting may be
obtained from Mr. Paul M. Rea, Secretary, Charleston, S. C.
38 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14. No. 1
Prof. F. G. Mueller, a member of the Society, conducts a summer camp
for boys, which is located at Indianola, on the northwest shore of Lake
Mendota, at Madison. This camp was established by its director nine
seasons ago. Its location is charming and healthful and every facility is
offered for an enjoyable and profitable summer's outing. There are five
attractive and well furnished buildings, an athletic field, tennis courts, a
fleet of launches, canoes and row boats and a fine bathing beach. The
camp farm, which is located on the site of an early Winnebago village,
comprises several hundred acres of woodland, pasture and cultivated
fields. Special features on the camp program include a number of hikes,
field instruction in local history .and archeology, and trips to Devils lake
and the Dells of the Wisconsin. The camp continues from June to Octo-
ber. The attractive 1915 camp catalogue has just appeared. Copies may
be obtained by addressing the director at Camp Indianola, at Madison.
Mr. Ben F. Faast, of Eau Claire, is assisting the Society in its work by
providing for the permanent preservation of a group of Indian mounds
located on lands in which he is interested, on the shore of Potato lake, in
Rusk county. With the help of other friends he is also endeavoring to
create an interest in the preservation of a fine group of similar earthworks
situated on the shore of Prairie lake, near Chetek, in Barron county. Mr.
John S. Baker has promised the protection of several burial mounds
located on his property on Bear lake, in the same county.
Mr. William H. Ellsworth, of* Milwaukee, vice-president of the Wis-
consin Archeological Society, has been honored by his appointment as a
member of the board of trustees of the Milwaukee Public Museum.
The annual Joint Meeting of Wisconsin scientific societies was held in
the Biology building of the University of Wisconsin, on April 1 and 2.
The participating organizations were the Wisconsin Academy of
Sciences, Arts and Letters, the Wisconsin Archeological Society, Wiscon-
sin Audubon Society, Wisconsin Mycological Society, Madison Mycolo-
gical Society, and Wisconsin Natural History Society. For the Wiscon-
sin Archeological Society papers were presented by Prof. L. B. Wolfenson,
Dr. Louise Phelps Kellogg, Miss Ethel Rockwell, Mr. Charles E. Brown,
Mr. W. A. Titus, and Mr. Ira M. Buell. The annual dinner was given at
the University Club, on the evening of April 1. On this occasion. Prof.
D. C. Munro, president of the Academy, delivered an address.
The January-February issue of the Archeological Bulletin contains
articles o'n "Ancient Life in Southeastern Nebraska," by Samuel P.
Hughes; "Waconda Spring," by G. J. Remsburg, and "Chipped Imple-
ments are Most Numerous," by J. N. McCue. Mr. W. L. Griffin of
Somerset, Kentucky, is the present secretary-editor of the International
Society of Archeologists.
Dr. Fred H. Sterns, of the Department of Anthropology, of the Peabody
Museum, at Cambridge, Massachusetts, has published in the January-
March issue of the American Anthropologist, a paper on "A Stratification
Archeological Notes 39
of Cultures in Eastern Nebraska. In this paper, which is illustrated with
several figures, the author gives a description of some of the results of his
last summer's investigations of rectangular lodge sites in that state.
Among the materials found during their excavation were potsherds, ani-
mal bones, charred corn and gourd or squash seeds. Traces of contact
with white people are entirely absent.
The report of the Anthropological Division of Canada for the year 1913
contains a brief account of the researches conducted by Dr. Paul Radin
among the Chippewa Indians residing near La Pointe and Odanah, Wis-
consin, and at Red Lake, Minnesota. As a result of this field work the
conclusion has been reached that: "The Ojibwa of Wisconsin and Minne-
sota probably represent two separate invasions. Those Ojibwa who en-
tered Wisconsin did so either by way of Mackinaw or by the more cir-
cuitous route of the entire peninsula of Michigan. The Minnesota Ojibwa
probably entered in two ways, either by way of Mackinaw and the north-
ern shore of Lake Superior or by way of the Rainy river region."
"The language differs from that spoken in southeastern Ontario in few^
details. Initial vowels never disappear. The slurring of vowels so com-
mon in Sarnia is very rare, and as a consequence many of the secondary
consonantal clusters found in Sarnia are not met with here."
Very little mythology was collected owing to the large number of col-
lections in existence. No new details were added to the information ob-
tained last year on the subject of the social organization of the Ojibwa.
A few clan names were added and about one hundred personal names ob-
tained. No clan myths were obtained, and it seems doubtful if they really
exist.
"There seems to be no difference in religious beliefs between this and
the Ontario division of the tribe, except, of course, the beliefs and their
systematic presentation connected with the midewiwin."
Reports are also given of the work of A. A. Goldenweiser among the
Canadian Iroquois, W. H. Mechling among the Malecite and Micmac,
and by J. A. Mason among the Northern Athabaskan tribes. Mr. Har-
lan I. Smith conducted archeological researches in New Brunswick and
Alberta; Mr. W. J. Wintemberg in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and on
Prince Edward island, and Mr. W. B. Nickerson in southwestern Mani-
toba.
The October-December, 1914, issue of the Quarterly Journal of the
Society of American Indians, which has just appeared, contains a number
of very interesting articles by Arthur C. Parker, William J. Kershaw,
Prof. F. A. McKenzie, Dr. Carlos Montezuma, Gawasa Wanneb, Hon.
Peleg Sprague, Hon. W. S. Washburn, and Charles W. Chickeney. Dr.
Parker gives an account of the memorial presented to President Wilson,
at Washington, on December 10, by a delegation of its active officers,
associate officers and members of its advisory board. This memorial was
the outcome of the conference held by the society at the University of
Wisconsin, on October 6-11, 1914. The memorial was read to the Presi-
dent by Dennison Wheelock, an Oneida, of West Depere, Wisconsin.
After its presentation, Mr. W. J. Kershaw, of Milwaukee, delivered an
eloquent and profoundly impressive address. President Wilson expressed
40 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 1
his great pleasure in receiving the delegation and promised to give the
memorial his most earnest consideration.
The Fifth Annual Conference of the Society will be held at the Univer-
sity of Kansas, at Lawrence, September 28, to October 6, 1915.
Museum Bulletin No. 6 of the Geological Survey, Canada Department
of Mines, is devoted to an exceptionally interesting paper by V. Stefan-
sson, on the "Prehistoric and Present Commerce Among the Arctic Coast
Eskimo." It is accompanied by a map showing Eskimo trade routes.
Among the important articles of trade among the different tribes are stone
lamps and pots, native copper and implements made of this metal, wood
and articles made of wood, furs and skins, ivory, horn, pyrites, oil and
Siberian goods.
Vol. 14
July, 1915
No. 2
THE
WISCONSIN
ARCHEOLOGIST
THE LAC COURT OREILLES REGION
PUBLISHED BY THE
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
MILWAUKEE
Wisconsin Archeological
Society
MILWAUKEE, WIS.
Incorporated Marqh 23, 1903, for the purpose of advancing the study and
preservation of Wisconsin antiquities.
OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
G. A. WEST Milwaukee
VICE-PRESIDENTS
DR. S. A. BARRETT..-_1 Milwaukee
DR. ORRIN THOMPSON Neenah
W. H. ELLSWORTH... Milwaukee
W. A. TITUS Fond du Lac
H. E. COLE: Baraboo
DIRECTORS
DR. E. J. W. NOTZ Milwaukee
DR. LEWIS SHERMAN Milwaukee
TREASURER
LEE R. WHITNEY Milwaukee
SECRETARY
CHARLES E. BROWN Madison
COMMITTEES
STATE SURVEY — Ellis B. Usher, L. R. Whitney, G. R. Fox, C. E. Brown, Dr. S.
A. Barrett, Dr. Louis Falge, H. L. Skavlem.
MOUND PRESERVATION— Prof. Albert S. Flint, Prof. L. B. Wolfenson, Mrs.
E. H. Van Ostrand, P. V. Lawson, J. M. Pyott, B. F. Feast, T. L. Miller, R.
P. Ferry, Dr. N. P. Hulst, C. W. Norris, Mrs. Charles Gatlin, C. L. Dering,
B. O. Bishop, R. S. Owen, Grant Fitch, G. H. Squier, Chas. Lapham, Rev.
J. H. Huhn, W. W. Gilman, Dr. A. F. Heising.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS— Henry L. Ward, Prof. A. H. Sanford, Dr. G. L. Collie,
Mrs. Jessie R. Skinner, C. L. Fortier, Mrs. E. C. Wiswall, H. P. Hamilton,
J. P. Schumacher, Hon. Emil Baensch, W. W. Warner, B. H. Brah, Most Rev.
S. G. Messmer, Dr. Frederick Starr, Dr. W. C. Daland, H. H. Schufeldt, Dr.
J. J. Davis, R. H. Becker, Dr. F. C. Rogers, Col. G. Pabst, Mrs. Mary J.
Wilmarth, Hon. A. J. Horlick, F. H. Lyman, W. P. Clarke, Dr. W. H. Brown.
MEMBERSHIP — Jos. Ringeisen, B. W. Davis, Rev. L. E. Drexel, Paul Joers, O.
L. Obermaier, W. A. Phillips, Miss Julia A. Lunn, L. R. Gagg, A. Crozier, A.
Gerth, W. A. Wenz, C. G. Schoewe, W. H. Vogel, Miss Minna M. Kunckell,
A. W. Pond, E. C. Tagatz, W. A. Kraatz, A. H. Quan, J. V. Berens, Miss
Emma Richmond, A. T. Newman, H. O. Younger, Thomas Bardon, W. H.
Zuehlke, Prof. F. G. Mueller.
PRESS— John Poppendieck, Jr., A. O. Barton, E. R. Mclntyre, R. H. Plumb,
Miss Mary E. Stewart, Rev. J. E. Copus, H. A. Smythe, Jr.
MAN MOUND — Jacob Van Orden, Dr. W. G. McLachlan, Miss Jennie Baker.
SESSIONS
These are held in the Lecture Room in the Library -Museum
Buildino;, in Milwaukee, on the third Monday of each month, at
8 P. M.
During the months of July to October no meetings will be held.
MEMBERSHIP FEES
Life Members, $25.00 Sustaining Members, $5.00
Annual Members, $2.00
All communications in regard to the Wisconsin Archeological Society or to the
"Wisconsin Archeologist" should be addressed to Charles E Brown, Secretary and
Curator, Office, State Historical Museum, Madison, Wisconsin.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Vol. 14, No. 2
ARTICLES
Pag«
The Lac Court Oreilles Region, Charles E. Brown 41
Our Indebtedness to the American Indian, Leo J. Frachtenberg. ,. .. 64
Archeological Notes 70
ILLUSTRATIONS
Spanish Indian Medal Frontispiece
Map of the Lac Court Oreilles Region
Plate * Facing Page
1. La Court Oreilles Chippewa 46
2. Reserve Townsite Mounds 50
3. Aiken Bay Group 54
4. Cemetery at White Fish 56
j . : Burial Mound at Eho Eto Haven 56
5. Eho Eto Haven Group 60
Spanish Indian Ali'd;)!
State Tlistorical Museum
The Wisconsin Archeologist
Quarterly Bulletin Published by the Wisconsin Archeologrical Society
Vol. 14 MILWAUKEE, WIS., JULY, 1915 No. 2
THE LAC COURT OREILLES REGION
Charles E. Brown
The La Court Oreilles region is located in the western part
of Sawyer county, in northwestern Wisconsin. The principal
physiographical feature of the region is its system of beautiful
lakes the most important of which are Court Oreilles, Little
Court Oreilles, Grindstone, White Fish, Sand and Bass.
These are drained by the Court Oreilles river, which is itself
a tributary of the Chippewa. Of the lakes mentioned only
Little Court Oreilles, and a portion of Court Oreilles and
Grindstone lakes are included within the boundaries of the
Lac Court Oreilles Indian reservation.
Little Court Oreilles, according to the maps of the region,
is only about one mile in length and about one-half mile in
width at its widest part. Its east and a large part of its
west shores are high and sandy, and are quite generally
denuded of trees. Some parts of both shores are under
cultivation. At the south end of the lake near the outlet,
there is an area of low swampy land. Court Oreilles is one
of the largest lakes in northwestern Wisconsin. From ex-
treme end to end its length is about six and one-half miles,
its greatest width (from Aiken bay to the Chicago club)
being about two and one-half miles. It is very irregular in
outline and has a number of beautiful bays along both
its north and south shores. A thoroughfare connects this
large lake with Little Court Oreilles. Its banks were once
thickly wooded with pine and deciduous trees which forests
have been largely removed by logging operations. These
cut-over lands are now overgrown with young trees and
42 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 2
brush. The east shore has high banks and the land, where
not under cultivation in small gardens of the Indian resi-
dents is covered with brush and occasional small groves of
trees. Near Ishams bay, at the northeast extremity of the
lake, the land along the shore is lower with an occasional
ravine and small swampy area. A short distance east of the
lake there is a ridge of quartzite. The south shore of the lake
is generally high with fine sandy beaches. Huss point, on
this shore, has been cleared and is partly under cultivation.
The remainder of the shore line from this point to the Eho
Eto Haven summer resort, is low and level and where not
occupied by the cottages of summer residents, is a pictur-
esque jungle of young trees and shrubs. The beach is par-
ticularly fine along this stretch of shore. The head of the
curiously shaped peninsula is very high with steep banks
and is still quite heavily wooded with a mixed forest. Its
highest and most beautiful point is occupied by the club
house of the Wismo club. The shore of Mud bay, along the
neck of the peninsula, is low with a large tamarack swamp
and marshes on its south shore. The bay is quite shallow
with a mud bottom. The north shore of the lake has high
rocky or gravelly shores except at the thoroughfare con-
necting this lake with Grindstone lake, where there is a small
area of swampy land. Forests of second growth timber and
brush lands occupy this shore. The Ottie farm across the
bay to the east from the Chicago club house is the only
cultivated land on this side of the lake. The fine club house
and other buildings of this club occupy a tract of low, gently
sloping land at the head of a fine bay on this side. From this
point to opposite the head of the peninsula, the west shore,
which is elevated only a few feet above the water, is quite
heavily wooded. Below this point some of the land is under
cultivation.
Grindstone lake is about three and one-third miles long
and about two miles wide at its widest part. It also is a
beautiful body of water with both high and low and swampy
shore lines. There are several summer resorts and summer
homes on its north and east shores. White Fish lake is
about two and one-half miles long and two-thirds of a mile
wide. Sand and Bass lakes are of smaller size. The Court
Oreilles lakes being spring fed, the water is fresh and clear.
L/rrte
E/'RVATION
Map of the Lac Court Oreilles Region, the numbers refer to the text
The Lac Court Oreilles Region 43
The fishing in these lakes is of an excellent character. Bass,
pike and muskalonge are abundant.
The Lac Court Oreille reservation is 69,136 acres in extent.
This tract of land was set apart for the use of the Lac Court
Oreille band of Chippewa in 1854, its selection being ap-
proved by the Secretary of the Interior, in 1873.
About 1,200 Chippewa now reside within its limits. They
are scattered over its acres living on farms and allotments.
The principal settlements are at Reserve, Whitefish, Trading
Post, Barbertown, Billy Boys (or Signor) Dam, Chief Lake
and Round Lake.
The first permanent settlement of the Chippewa in this
region is said to have been made in about the year 1754.
From this point new villages were from time to time estab-
lished on the shores of the lakes and streams in the adjoining
districts to the south and east. lii 1852 the Court Oreilles
Chippewa formed a part of the division of the Chippewa
tribe known as the "Belenukeengainubejig." In 1905 their
number was officially reported as 1,214.
The Court Oreilles take their name from the region. "The
proper name of the lake (Court Oreille) is Ottawa, from a
band of Ottawa, found there by the first (French) traders
who visited the region. These Ottawas cut the rims of
their ears in such a way as to make them appear short; and
the traders to avoid the suspicions of the Indians when con-
versing together about them, called them and their like
Courtoreille, or Short Ears." (W. H. C, IV, 229.)
With the Messrs. A. 0. Barton and E. R. Mclntyre as
companions, the writer visited the Lac Court Oreille region
in August, 1914, for the purpose of conducting an archeol-
ogical reconnaissance. Arriving at Reserve the party went
into camp near the summer cottage of Judge E. C. Higbee,
on the west shore of Lac Court Oreilles, and conducted its
investigations from that base until the return of the Messrs.
Barton and Mclntyre, one week later, when the writer
removed to the Kuhl resort, at Eho Eto Haven, on the south-
shore of the lake, and continued his researches from that
point. The difficulties to be overcome in conducting a sur-
face survey of the lake lands were considerable. The un-
cultivated lands, especially on the north shore of Court
Oreilles, are overgrown in places with an almost impassable
44 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 2
tangle of brush and even the trails which in many places
follow the banks and extend in various directions into the
back lands were often hidden in the brush or very obscure
through disuse. But few of the lands along the lake being
farmed there was but little opportunity to locate traces Of
stone age village sites except along the lake banks. These,
although carefully examined in many places, yielded but
little information of archeological interest. The frequent
showers, which occurred almost daily, greatly interfered with
out field work. Both the Indian and white inhabitants of
the region cheerfully aided us with such data as they pos-
sessed. We are especially indebted to Judge and Mrs. E. C.
Higbee, Mr. Charles LaRush, Rev. Mr. G. L. Merriam,
Mrs. Geo. M. Huss, Mr. J. G. Kuhl, Miss Mamie Setter and
Miss Anna Wolf for courtesies extended to our party.
The Indian mounds located about the Gourt Oreilles lakes
should be protected by their present owners against further
senseless mutilation. Why Government officers have per-
mitted the exploration by relic hunters of those on the
Reservation it is difficult to understand. The loss of, or
injury to, these ver>^ interesting monuments of prehistoric
time will some day be greatly regretted.
THE REPORT
1. Reserve Village
The east shore of Little Lac Gourt Oreilles, where the
present Ghippewa Indian village of Reserve is now located,
is said to have been hmg the site of an Indian village. This
land is said to have been originally the allotment of a former
head chief, Akewinze. In about the year 1883 there were
but three or four houses here, one of these being occupied by
the Government blacksmith, whose duty it was to keep the
guns of the Indians in repair and to make iron axes, hoes, and
other implements for their use. Graves were then located
along the top of the lake bank a short distance south of
where the village pump now stands, and also in the rear of
the present Lorange general store. Some were disturbed in
preparing the road, human bones being then disclosed.
Some iron and a few stone celts and flint arrowpoints have
The Lac Court Oreilles Region 45
been picked up, it is reported, in the road and in the gardens
of the village. The writer was not able to see any of these.
A search along the lake bank and in the village failed to dis-
close any evidence of stone age workshops or wigwam
hearths.
John Corbine, a Frenchman and the father of Mr. Louis
Corbine, of Reserve, is said to have been the first actual
settler. He was a trader, his log cabin being situated in a
field on the east side of the Reserve to Hayward road, ad-
joining the present dwelling of the latter. He died about
fifty years ago, being then nearly one hundred years old.
Reserve consists of some fifty or more frame, and part
log and frame houses. It occupies the entire east shore of
the lake, quite a few of the houses fronting on the road. The
others are scattered over the lands in the rear. Each house
has its small garden patch. There is a general store and a
small country hotel. At the north end of the village, at the
northeast corner of the lake, is the Catholic church, parson-
age and cemetery.
2. '^Pagan" Cemetery
About one-eighth of a mile north of the Catholic cemetery
and about five hundred feet north of the Hayward road is
the burying ground of the non-Christian Indians of the
reservation. It is located on slightly elevated land, in a
clump of young pme trees. There are fifty-five graves here,
all but two of which are covered with board shelters. Nine
are the graves of children. The graves are closely grouped
in six parallel rows the aisles between them being from three
to four feet in width. The graves in each row are separated
from each other by from about two to three feet. Sweet
fern, wild rose and hazel bushes grow among them. The
wooden shelters placed over the graves are nearly all of the
familiar dog-kennel pattern. The largest measured 8 feet
2 inches in length and 5 feet in width. One is triangular in
shape. One of the shelters has a shingled roof. One is
painted a bright blue and another a dark red color, the
remainder being unpainted. All of the shelters have small
openings cut in one end beneath which are nailed narrow
pieces of wood. On these shelves food is placed for some
46 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 2
days after the burial. This is said to be intended to assist the
spirits of the dead during the time which they require to
reach the spirit world. Several of the shelters have two
shelves one above the other. In one instance the shelf was
nailed inside of the opening. The openings in this cemetery
are all at the north end of the shelters. They are sawed into
the board fronts and differ considerably in shape. Some are
square with a pointed or notched top^ rectangular, lozenge
shaped, roughly circular and of other shapes, it being the
evident intention of the relatives of the dead to make them
as ornamental as possible. One shelter has two of these
openings placed side by side. About one opening are a
series of auger holes forming an arch which is surmounted by
a cross made in the same manner. In another case six auger
holes arranged in two lines of three holes each are bored into
the wood on the left side of the opening. Auger holes arranged
in a triangle" partly surround another opening. A wooden
cross is nailed across the opening of one shelter. Nailed
above the opening of another is a sniall piece of board bearing
a pencil drawing. The upper half of this board is cross-
hatched with pencil lines below which is the rudely drawn
figure of an animal, head downward. This figure is also
cross-hatched. It is probably intended to represent a bear,
this animal being probably the totem of the deceased. On
theshelf beneath the opening was an offering of a small heap
of tobacco. In front of one grave house were set two stakes
of about the same height as the shelter, one. being blunt
and the other sharpened to a point.
There are both old and new graves in the cemetery. Sev-
eral of the wooden shelters have collapsed and several others
are beginning to fall apart. Two graves are without shelters.
One of these is a new grave, that of Sam Buck, an Indian
who recently died of tuberculosis. At the time of our first
visit to the cemetery the earthen mound of this grave had
been covered with a piece of rush matting upon which
pieces of sod and logs had been piled. In front of the grave
was a piece of board containing a rude pencil drawing of an
animal probably intended to represent a wolf. On a sub-
sequent visit we found that odds and ends of lumber had
been hauled to this grave with the intention of building a
shelter. We learned that a "feast" had just been held at
the grave by relatives of the dead.
?o
The Lac Court Oreilles Region 47
The cemetery is reached by a path or trail winding through
the trees and brush from the Hayward road.
A short distance from the cemetery, on the west side of
the road, is the home of George Sheff, a chief of the Court
Oreilles band, who died about five years ago. His one story
frame house stands in a pretty grove of young Norway
pines and is surrounded by a neat wire fence, and wooden
gate with an arch above.
On the west shore of Little Court Oreilles is the home of
Kakake, a prominent member of the local Indian band. The
house is located on elevated ground overlooking the lake.
About 100 feet north of it is the family cemetery. Here are
buried John, aged 16; George, 18; Alex, 14; and Wequay
Kakake, 2. All of the graves are covered with wooden
shelter houses. In front of the first grave is a wooden stake
upon which is drawn with a pencil a human figure having the
tail of a fish, head downward. The second grave shelter has
a toy wooden windmill fastened to its roof. A modern
granite gravestone, placed in front of the graves, gives the
names and ages of the dead.
3. Trail Cemetery
On the north side of a trail or path leading east through
the brush from the main Court Oreilles trail is a neglected
cemetery of seven graves. These are about one thousand
feet or more east of the house of Mr. Ed. Corbine, near the
northeast shore of Lac Court Oreilles.
The wooden shelters are in a state of disrepair. They are
closely grouped being from three to fifteen feet apart. The
largest measures eight feet in length. The roof is twenty-
six and the box fourteen inches high. A child's grave shelter
is four feet and two inches in length and one and one-half
feet high. The graves are hidden in the brush.
0 4. Dance Circle
An abandoned Chippewa dance circle is located at the
intersection of "Main" street with the east boundary line of
the Reserve Townsite plat. It is a short distance north of
the frame building in use by the inhabitants of the reserva-
tion as a town hall, and about 500 feet east of the Ed.
48 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 2
Corbine house. This ring is plainly visible in the grass. It
is circular in form and from 85 to 89 feet in diameter. The
earthen ridge outlining it is from 3 to 3 J feet wide and from
a few inches to a foot or more in height. It is surrounded by
a growth of hazel and other brush. The center of the circle
is free from brush being kept so by the grazing of the cattle
of the Indians. Three young poplar trees stand at the east-
ern edge of the circle. The writer was informed by one
Indian that dances were held here as recently as fifteen years
ago.
5. Linear Mound
On the bank of Lac Court Oreilles and about 250 feet in
the rear of the Corbine house already mentioned is what
appears to be a tapering linear mound. This earthen ridge is
about 2 feet high at its highest part, 125 feet in length and
from 6 to 9 feet in width at its broadest extremity. One
extremity lies within 3 and the other within 19 feet of the
top of the lake bank, which is here about 30 feet high.
Wild shrubs grow on the earthwork near its narrowest
extremity.
6. Sugar Camp
According to information obtained from Mr. Charles La
Rush, the land lying along the lake shore between the Corbine
place and his own home was at one time the site of a grove of
large maple trees, which the Chippewa in early days tapped
to obtain sap for the making of maple sugar. These trees had
been cut away when he acquired the land, which is now
overgrown with young Norway pine and other trees, and
hazel brush.
7. La Rush Garden Beds
In the rear of a summer resort cottage belonging to Mr.
La Rush, and separated by but a short distance from his
own home, is a series of Indian garden beds. These indica-
tions of former cultivation begin at the cottage and extend
back into a grove of young pine trees, for a distance of 130
feet. The general direction of the beds is from ten to forty
degrees east of north. The beds are from 18 inches to 3i
The Lac Court Oreilles Region 49
feet wide and of irregular lengths, from about 70 to 112 feet.
They are from 6 to 8 inches high. The paths between the
beds are from 1 to 2J feet wide. The beds are very plainly
marked on the soil. Being in a rather thick grove of young
trees it was only with considerable difficulty that their di-
mensions could be secured.
8. Camp Site
The land along the shore of Lac Court Oreilles between the
La Rush place and Ishams bay, at the head of the lake, is in a
wild state being for the most part thickly overgrown with
trees and bushes. Although a trail follows the shore for a
considerable distance it appears to be used but little and at
the time of our visits was almost impassable, being entirely
obscured in places.
At one place about half way between these two points the
burned stones of a fireplace were seen protruding from the
top of the sandy lake bank. This was uncovered by digging
and charcoal and ashes found in its middle. The circle of
stones was about 2 feet in diameter. At other places along
'the bank quartz chips and fragments were found. When
this land is cleared and brought under cultivation additional
evidences of old Indian camp sites will undoubtedly be
disclosed.
9. Barbertown Graves
At the small Indian settlement known as Barbertown, at
the head of Ishams bay, Messrs. Barton and Mclntyre
found a small modern Indian burying ground. The graves
were at a distance of about 30 feet from the shore. Five
were those of adult Indians and three those of children.
They were covered with wooden shelters, and with rush
matting and strips of birchbark.
10. Reserve Townsite, Village Site and Mounds
Plate 2
The peninsula separating Little Court Oreilles and Court
Oreilles was at one time occupied by a Chippewa village.
This is said to have been from twenty to twenty-five years
50 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 2
ago. The peninsula, which was platted several years ago for
summer resort purposes, is now partly under cultivation and
in use as a pasture. The remainder is covered with woods.
A group of five burial mounds is located along the top of
the high lake bank south of the road which runs along the
southern shore of the peninsula.
The first of these, an oval mound measuring 24 by 27 feet,
is located on the top of the lake bank and at a distance of 150
or more feet southeast of the Presbyterian mission church.
It lies about 66 feet south of the road from Reserve to White
Fish settlement and from which it is separated by a ticket
of sumach. A trail running along the lake bank from the
direction of Reserve passes between the mound and the bank
and then turns toward the church, where it connects with the
road. Between this mound and the next, and directly in
front of the church and parsonage, was formerly located a
small patch of Indian corn hills. In the parsonage flower
garden adjoining this site a small flint workshop site is
indicated. Flint chips were scattered over the surface of
the soil. On the edge of the lake bank just beyond this
garden is the second mound. It is oval in form having di-
mensions of 37 by 40 feet, and is about 4 feet high at its
middle. A depression on its top shows that it has been
explored by reUc hunters. The lake bank opposite this
mound is about 30 feet high and steep. The road is 60 feet
north of it. In a thicket between this mound and the road
are several neglected Indian graves each being covered with
a wooden shelter.
Mound No. 3 lies 45 feet beyond the last. Its edge touches
the top of the bank. The road is 50 feet from it. It is
circular in outUne, 34 feet in diameter and 3i feet high. It
also has been excavated. Within a few feet of it is another
cluster of four neglected graves.
Mound No. 4 is separated from No. 3 by a distance of
about 675 feet. It is 38 feet in diameter and about 3 feet
high. It also is located on the edge of the lake bank, which
is at this point about 60 feet high. The road passes directly
by this mound. A distance of 320 feet beyond No. 5 is the
last mound of the series. It is situated on the edge of
the top of the lake bank, which is at this place about 25
feet high. The mound is 32 by 35 feet in size and of about
The Lac Court Oreilles Region 51
the same height as the former mound. The road passes
within a few feet of both of these last two mounds, which are
hidden from sight by bushes.
Local Indian tradition says that these mounds were not
constructed by their people but by the Dakota who occupied
this region until driven away by the Chippewa. At a dis-
tance of about 33 feet northeast of the first mound described
is a pothole 25 feet or more in depth and about 100 feet in
diameter at its top. Growing in it at the present time are
brakes and tall poplar saplings. According to Rev. Mr. C.
L. Merriam, who is in charge of the Presbyterian mission,
the Chippewa state that this cavity was employed by them
as a hiding place for their women and children when attacked
by their enemies, the Dakota.
11. Moshier Mounds
At the head of the Reserve townsite peninsula are two
burial mounds. The first of these is located on the edge of
the lake bank, at a distance of about 100 feet northeast of
the summer residence of Mr. W. L. Moshier. It is 37 feet in
diameter and about 5 feet high.
Twenty-eight feet east of this mound and within 35 feet of
the summer cottage of Mrs. Laura Bunce, is a second mound.
This is 37 feet in diameter and from 4J to 5 feet high. The
lake bank upon which the mounds lie is from 28 to 30 feet
high and very steep. Both mounds have been excavated by
the very careless and unsatisfactory method of digging holes
into their tops. It is said that this was done in 1892 by
parties seeking relics for exhibition at the Chicago World's
Columbian exposition.
Mr. Moshier informed us that several years ago Indian
grave houses were to be seen at a number of places on the
peninsula not far from his cottage.
12. Huss Bay Dance Ground
This dance ground is located on the shore of Huss bay, on
the south shore of Lac Court Oreilles, in the northwest
corner of Section 7.
52 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 2
It is on a level piece of land a short distance from the lake
and is surrounded by a few pine and other trees. It is in
use for the dancing of the squaw dance, a dance in which
both men and women participate. The circle in which the
dances take place is about 25 feet in diameter and is out
lined by a well worn track cut into the sod by the feet of
the participants.
A short distance south of the dance ground is a north and
south road which forms the western boundary of the Lac
Court Oreilles reservation. Several hundred feet up this
road is an unoccupied Indian house. A few feet north of the
house, among the high grass and weeds, is the family ceme-
tery of its former occupants. There are three graves each
covered with a wooden shelter. In front of one is a tall pole
having at its top a strip of white cloth.
Beyond this house, and several hundred feet north of the
intersection of the reservation road with the road leading
to Reserve, is a large one-story red-painted frame building,
which, we were informed, was formerly in use as a reserva-
tion school. It has five windows on each side and a door in
the front and rear. On its roof are the iron mountings of a
former school bell. Indian children now attend the govern-
ment school at Hayward. Many of the young men and
women on the reservation have attended school at Haskell,
Tomah or elsewhere.
13. Dance Ground
One hundred or more feet south of the intersection of the
roads already mentioned is the principal dance ground of the
reservation. A grove of young pines stands between it and
the road to Reserve. The space in which the dances are
held is about 60 feet square and is surrounded by a neat
wooden and woven wire fence, the woodwork of which is
painted a bright blue color. At the middle of the east and
west sides of the enclosure are w^ooden gates. Tall flag
poles, also painted blue, are located opposite each entrance
and also on the north and south sides. A broad seat,
secured to the fence, extends around the inside of the
enclosure.
The Lac- Court Oreilles Region 53
A dance was in progress at the time of our visit, on the
afternoon of August 30. This we afterwards learned was a
portion of the so-called "dream dance" which is described in
the Wisconsin Archeologist (V. 10, No. 1), from notes
obtained by Dr. S. A. Barrett, an officer of the Archeological
Society. About thirty-five old and young men were taking
part in the ceremony, most of these being seated around the
sides of the enclosure. On the ground, a short distance from
its southwest corner was a large drum handsomely orna-
mented with bright red cloth and beadwork. This was
beaten with drumsticks by nine drummers seated about it on
the ground and who chanted as they drummed. From time
to time some of the dancers rose in their places and danced in
place by slowly lifting their feet and bending their knees.
The following notes concerning the dance and other
ceremonies are extracted from those obtained on this oc-
casion by Mr. Albert 0. Barton:
"The drum hung about two inches from the ground, from four
brightly colored sticks. These projected about two feet above the drum
the ends being curved and ornamented with pendant ribbons. The
drum must never touch the ground or table upon which it rests. The
supporting sticks are said to typify or represent the four wind gods.
"The drummers are said to 'belong to the drum' and the distinction is
said to be hereditary. There were two 'masters' or 'keepers' of the drum,
Steve Grover and John Quarters, who appeared to be the masters of
ceremonies and who made all announcements. Steve Grover is one of
the four chiefs of the Lac Courte Oreilles band and owns the drum which
is now kept at his house. The drum must have a special table» and
someone must always sleep in the same room with il at night. Offerings
of tobacco are expected to be made to it. There are four so-called
'head' drummers, each of w^hom has his own song. While this is being
chanted he leaves the drum, dances and gives a present to someone.
The drummer puts particular individuality into his own song and
dancing. Sometimes every drummer has his own song.
"The dance is a barbaric performance and resembles simply 'marking
time,' as the dancers remain practically in the same position to the end
of the dance. Among the participants were a number of very picturesque
old full-bloods garbed largely in real Indian fashion. These characters
seemed more appropriate in the ceremony than the others, particularly
the light-colored half-breeds.
"While this dance, unlike the squaw dance, is considered a purely
man's dance, the women sometimes open the last dance unaccompanied
by the drum until the men join in. In this dance the women give away
presents. At the close of the dance the masters announce how many
more dances will be given in the future and when.
54 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 2
"An interesting feature of the afternoon's ceremony was the stripping
of the weeds of mourning from an Indian couple. These dances are the
occasion for the leaving off of mourning for such deaths as have occurred
since the last dance. Widows and widowers must wear their weeds for
a year, but other mourners have no fixed period. In this instance a
mother and step-father were relieved of mourning for the woman's son,
one Sam Buck, an Indian of some prominence, who had died recently.
"After the drum beating, shouting and dancing had been in progress
for some time, a number of w^omen and children entered the enclosure and
sat on the ground behind the drummers. Four of these women were
said to 'belong to the drum.' Among their duties is that of cooking and
serving the feast which is spread outside the gate and to which all are
invited. With them came Sam Buck's mother and step-father, who took
seals on rugs spread for them. While the song was in progress the other
Indian women washed her hands and face and combed her hair, a
like service being done her husband by the men present. A new blue
waist was also put on the woman and then both were adorned with
beaded finery of various kinds. The Indians present came forward and
presented them with various gifts, blankets, belts, beads, etc., a large
and valuable heap being piled up between them. As the woman rose in
her finery she puffed vigorously at her pipe.
"Then followed more songs interspersed with eloquent speeches by
the various drummers, addressed to the couple to whom the distin-
guished attentions had been shown.
"The speechmaking was opened by John Quarters, a 'grade' Indian,
who keeps a country store at Whitefish and whose father was a logger
and a founder of the city of Barron. In substance he said: —
" 'With this taking off of your marks of mourning you are now free
to wear any color you wish; but if the gifts before you were piled as
high as your heads, you should not entirely put away your sorrow.
However, while remembering your loss you should not be bowed down,
but should lift up your heads again and be hopeful.'
"The next speaker was Steve Grover, the owner and so-called 'priest
of the drum.' Grover is credited with some unusual views and practices.
At his log cabin home near the dance ground he is said to have set up
a cross upon which he asks visitors to place offerings of tobacco. He is
also said to possess a vest with a red ribbon cross embroidered on the
back, and is said to have declared that he was crucified like Jesus and
ascends to heaven whenever he desires. He is said to have been ques-
tioned by his sceptical brethren as to the appearance of heaven and why
he did not stay once he was safely within it.
" 'I am too young to give you older people advice.' said Grover to
the couple, 'but I would like to tell you something about the meaning
of the drum. It was God in heaven who gave us the drum and put his
wind into it. This fact we should never forget. Every time we see or
think of the drum we should think of God. This will make us good and
happy. We 'should also be good to our neighbors, and if we are, they
will be good to us.'
"According to one legend the drum was given to the Indians in one
of their wars. While the war continued one of the women had a dream
:v cd
*
The Lac Court Oreilles Region 55
in which an apparition appeared and commanded the tribe to 'follow
that which follows me.' When the apparition appeared the next night
it was followed by a drum. As the objects which the Indians see in their
dreams are believed to have the virtues of protecting dieties, the drum
has since been a sacred emblem in the tribe. It is an ancient belief that
animals seen in dreams, particularly following feasts, have pecularily
benign attributes and protect those who behold them.
"The next drummer to speak said in part. 'God put the Indians down
here upon the earth that they should know their future by their dreams.
But many Indians are forgetting this old teaching and the old customs.
We should remember that we cannot do anything without God's will.
God appoints everything we do and when we find things going against
us it is because we have done something wrong to the drum.'
"Other speeches in a similar vein were made. At the close John
Quarters announced that the dance would continue in the torenoon of
the morrow and that the women would have to bake bread and bring
other food for a feast at the noon hour."
An educated Christianized Indian girl, a daughter of one
of the chiefs, assisted Mr. Barton with interpretations of the
ceremonies and speeches. Several hundred Indians and
whites witnessed the ceremonies from the grove partly sur-
rounding the dance enclosure.
A short distance south of the dance ground is the frame-
work of the medicine lodge. This was about one hundred"
feet in length. The arches were still standing but the
customary covering of matting or sheets of bark had been
removed. The writer was informed that meetings of the
medicine lodge are also held at Round lake, Chief lake and at
the Post (Pah quauh wong), on the Chippewa river.
14. White Fish Cemetery
Plate 4
Beyond the Medicine lodge is the cemetery of the White
Fish Indian settlement which is located near at hand, about
the head of the lake of the same name. This cemetery fronts
on the reservation line road and lies in a grove of young pine
trees. Twenty-one graves were counted in the lot nearest the
road, all being provided with weather-beaten wooden shelter
houses. About 90 feet directly in the rear of these is another
lot of fifty-four graves. They are approached by a narrow
lane through the trees and are in a small clearing. The
graves are arranged in five irregular north and south lines
56 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 2
and face toward the west. The largest shelter measures
10 feet 3 inches by 3 feet 8 inches in size. It is 3 feet high.
Two of the graves in this portion of the cemetery are covered
with a structure made of unbarked pine logs, each log being
about 6 feet in length and 4 inches in thickness. The logs
are laid side by side and are built up three logs high. Run-
ning crosswise between each layer of logs are shorter logs of
the same diameter to which the long ones are spiked. This
style of grave covering is more substantial than the board
shelter house and probably perpetuates an earlier method
of protecting Indian burials. One shelter house is of a curious
construction being octagonal in form. The sides of this
octagonal house measure 2 feet 10 inches in width. The
height of the bottom board is 14 inches and the slope of the
pointed roof measures 3| feet.
One grave shelter is curious in that it has two small square
openings cut into its front. The thought suggested itself
that this probably sheltered the bones of two persons instead
of only one. Several of the shelter houses have flat roofs.
One, covering a child's grave, has a shingled roof. A number
of the shelter houses have fallen apart, the boards lying on
the mounds of the graves. The openings in the fronts of
the shelters in this cemetery are all square or oblong in
shape. Some have narrow shelves tacked beneath the open-
ings. A glance at the graves through these openings shows
that some are covered with strips of birchbark and others
with Indian matting. Small rolls of birchbark and whittled
sticks with the shavings attached lay on several of the
graves. The significance of these offerings we were not able
to learn. Thirteen children's graves occur in this cemetery.
The houses of the White Fish settlement begin near the
dance ground and occur at intervals along the road beyond
the cemetery and westward toward the lake. These are one-
story frame structures. Near some of these dwellings are
wigwams constructed by covering a light framework of
bent poles with pieces of birchbark sewed together in strips,
or with squares of rush matting, which are tied to the frame-
work with basswood cord or strips. One was covered with
squares of elm bark, w^hich was weighted down on the top
and sides with small logs. These wigwams were being used
as sleeping quarters by members of the families to whom
t .^'J^'
^ ^ ..^y'"^'^0^
Cemetery at White Fish
Burial Mound at Eho Eto Haven
Plate 4
The Lac Court Oreilles Region " 57
they belonged. Near these and other homes on the reserva-
tion we occasionally encountered interesting home-made
farm appliances of other days, such as log water troughs, a
shingle-shaving horse and a grindstone mounted in a log
trough.
15. Creek Village Site
Chips and fragments of white quartz, the refuse of the
aboriginal arrowmaker, a pebble hand hammer and scattered
burned and broken stones from wigwam fireplaces were
found among the stubble in a grain field on the east side of a
creek or thoroughfare connecting Lac Court Oreilles and
White Fish lake. This land is the property of Ex-Senator
White and lies on the north side of the so-called White Fish
road, leading from Reserve to Sand lake. The presence of
the stubble and of the brush which covered other portions
of this land prevented the making of a more careful search for
evidences of aboriginal occupation and of learning more of
the extent of this site. This field is elevated in places from
20 to 30 feet above the thoroughfare. The owner of the
property informed the writer that a number of stone celts
flint arrow and spearpoints had been collected from the
cultivated portions of this land. According to local Indian
traditions this place is said to have been the site of an early
fight between the Dakota and the Chippewa. Whether or
not this story has any foundation in fact cannot be deter-
mined. Doubtless the finding of stone implements on this
village site is responsible for this belief.
Chippewa Indians are said to have formerly camped on
Huss point, a short distance northeast of this site, on the Lac
Court Oreilles shore.
16. White Mound
On the west side of the thoroughfare directly in the rear
of a cottage occupied by Mr. Mortenson, the foreman of the
White farm, is an oval mound. This measures 18 by 21 feet
in size and 2| feet high. It is about 35 feet from the cottage
and about 30 feet from the barn beyond. It is about 300
feet north of the bank of White Fish lake. An Indian trail
is said to have formerly crossed the thoroughfare near the
58 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 2
cottage and proceded over the wooded portion of the White
property lying to the west of the Mortenson house.
17. Mud Bay Mounds
On the narrow neck of a peninsula stretching into Lac
Court Oreilles are several groups of mounds. The first of these
is located on the shore of Mud bay, on the south side of the
peninusla, and a short distance south of the road w^hich leads
to the Eho Eto Haven resort and Wismo club. An old
logging road, which connects with the road already men-
tioned, passes by the mounds. The mound located farthest
toward the east is 15 feet in diameter and about 2 feet high.
It is situated about 35 feet back from the Mud bay shore.
Twenty-five feet beyond it is a second mound which is 18
feet in diameter and of about the same height. Thirty-five
feet beyond this is the third mound, which is 20 feet in
diameter, and about 3 feet high. This mound lies about 65
feet from the shore of the bay. The mounds are partly
hidden by young trees and brush. The place where they
are located is commonly spoken of as the "Indian camping
ground." Two wigwam frames were located in the brush
east of the mounds at the time of the writer's visit. An
Indian family whose members had been cutting marsh grass
from a small pond near the mounds had packed up its be-
longings and was preparing to leave the place. The bay
shore opposite the mounds is low. The bay itself is shallow
with a mud bottom. Some wild rice in the bay had been
sown during the winter by John Quarters, a local Indian.
It is said to have been sown when the ice was thin and
trampled down. At the eastern side of the bay not far from
the mounds is a cranberry marsh.
18. Aiken Bay Group.
Plate 3
Northwest of the mounds just described, on the shore of
Aiken bay, is a group of nine mounds. Eight of these are
located in the rear of a group of summer cottage^. Five of
the nine mounds are oval in form, one is a linear mound and
The Lac Court Oreilles Region 59
three are conical in form. A plat of this group is shown in
Plate 3. The dimensions of these mounds are:
No. 1. 21 X 24 feet, 3 feet high.
No. 2. 26 feet in diameter, 3 feet high.
No. 3. 24 X 25 feet, 3 feet high.
No. 4. 20 X 27 feet, 2f feet high.
No. 5. 18 X 20 feet, 1 foot high.
No. 6. 36 feet in diameter, 7 feet high.
No. 7. 21 X 75 feet. If feet high.
No. 8. 26 X 34 feet, 1 J feet high
No. 9. 30 feet in diameter, 1| feet high.
Mound No. 1 is located on property belonging to S. Green-
hagen at a distance of about 50 feet from the lake shore.
Two oak trees 8 and 10 inches in diameter are growing on
this mound. A distance of about 160 feet separates this
mound from No. 2. This last mound has been dug into and
the pit in its top was being used by the residents of the nearby
cottage as a receptacle for tin cans and other rubbish, a sad
spectacle. At one extremity of Mound No. 3 is a pine
stump 2 feet in diameter. Mound No. 4 has been dug into
in several places by relic hunters. A road leads between
this mound and the next. The site of this road is said to
have been formerly used by the Indians in portaging their
canoes across the peninsula.
Mound No. 7 has the distinction of being the highest
mound in the Lac Court Oreilles region. This fme abor-
iginal monument has been mutilated by the digging of a deep
hole into its top. Its rather steep sides were oVergrown
with brush and tall weeds. On its northern side was an oak
stump measuring 21 inches in diameter. Touching the base
of this mound is a small frame building used for the storage
of ice. Mound No. 9 has also been dug into. Near the Aiken
cottages is a small oval heap of earth measuring 15 by 12
feet which may once have been a mound. The writer was
unable to obtain any certain information in regard to it.
The land upon which the mounds are located is level and
is elevated but a few feet above the waters of the bay. The
location of the mounds is such that there is no need of their
being removed. They are a decided attraction to this place
and the cottage owners should unite in protecting them
against further digging by relic hunters. Their present
neglected condition is a disgrace.
60 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14. No. 2
19. Eho Eto Haven Mounds and Village Site.
Plate 5
Some 400 or more feet beyond Mound No. 9 of the mound
group just described, in the rear of the W. E. Gilbert and
E. B. Dawes cottage is the first of another group of Indian
earthworks. Two and a large portion of a third of these
mounds are located near this cottage and the remainder are
on the property of Mr. J. H. Kuhl's charming summer
resort, to w^hich he has given the name Eho Eto Haven.
There were originally eight mounds in the group, (See Plate
5), five of which were oval in form. One mound for-
merly located about fifty feet in the rear of the dining hall
on the Eho Eto Haven grounds, was removed by Mr. Kuhl
in 1913, he being then unaware of its value and interest.
This mound he states was 8 feet or more in height. Its
base outline is still quite clearly marked in the grassy field.
Had it been spared it would no doubt have proven a great
attraction to summer visitors.
The mounds of the Eho Eto Haven group have the fol-
lowing dimensions:
No. 1. 21 feet in diameter, about 1 foot high.
No. 2. 17 feet in diameter, about 1 foot high.
No. 3. 19 X 51 feet, 3| feet high.
No. 4. 16 feet in diameter, 1| feet high.
No. 5. 24 X 27 feet, 4 feet high.
No. 6. 24 X 38 feet, 3^ feet high.
No. 7. 15 X 21 feet, reported as formerly, 8 feet high.
No. 8. 18 feet in diameter, 1 foot high.
Mounds No. 1, 2, 4 and 5 have all been dug into by relic
hunters, who judging from the character of their digging, got
but little for their pains. Eho Eto Haven occupies the nar-
rowest point of the peninsula measuring in places not more
than 300 or 350 feet across. A large portion of the neck of the
peninsula is said to have been once overgrown with pine trees.
A few fine examples of these are preserved on the grounds of
this summer resort. Opposite the cottages the beach of
Lac Court Oreilles is sandy, the lake bank in its rear rising to
a height of from 3J to 4 feet above the water. In the rear
of the cottages the land slopes to a lower, level area.
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The Lac Court Oreilles Region til
The tree and brush fringed bank of the Mud bay shore at
this place is low. A short distance from the shore are
scattered beds of wild rice. Beyond the cottages the land
rises to a considerable height, this high land, covered largely
with a fine forest of mixed woods, occupying the entire head
of the peninsula. The top of the steep bank along the Court
Oreilles shore is at a considerable height above the water.
The Wismo club-house is located on the northern shore and
near the end of the promontory.
From its character it is evident that in early days the
Indians would choose this peninsula as the location for a vil-
lage. The excellence of the fishing in the lake on both sides,
an abundance of small game, the wild rice in Mud bay, the
maple trees on the point convenient for sugar making and
other edible vegetable products which the woodlands afforded
all combined to make this an ideal spot for the location of a
village. Even now flocks of wild ducks fly from the lake
across the narrow neck to Mud bay and could at times be
easily brought down with an arrow. Blueberries grow in
abundance on the bank. The beaches afforded good land-
ing places for canoes.
The presence of three groups of burial mounds are in them-
selves an indication that such a village existed on the penin-
sula in stone age times. When the land on the neck,
now largely overgrown with brush and young trees, is
brought under cultivation additional evidences of this early
occupation will be revealed. An examination of the garden
and potato field in the rear of the cottage at Eho Eto Haven,
nearest the edge of the elevated land resulted in the finding
of numerous fireplace stones and of numbers of flint and
quartz chips and fragments. A few flint chips were also
found in a corn field on the higher land near the Wismo club.
20. Sugar Bush Trading Post.
A trader's cabin is reported to have been once located
where the club-house of the Sugar Bush club now stands.
Mr. Corbine, of Reserve, informed the writer that his father
had a cabin trading post here before locating at Reserve.
This spot is a very attractive one. Tall maples and a few
oak trees grow about the log and frame club-house. In its
62 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 2
rear are thick woods. The lake bank at this place is from
4 to 8 feet above the water.
In a small garden patch near the club-house, and in the rear
of the boat-house, a few flint chips and a number of scattered
hearthstones were found during an examination of the
ground. Mr. Charles La Rush informed me that about
fifteen years ago there was a log cabin where the club-house
now stands. While on a visit to the place at that time he
found the rusted barrel and lock of a flintlock gun in the
garden nearby. Other specimens such as iron arrowpoints,
iron axes and hoes, and gunflints are said to have been
found here by others.
21. Winters Point Graves
On this point, on the north shore of the lake, according to
the statement of Mr. Henry La Rush, is a small neglected
Indian cemetery of ten or more graves covered with the cus-
tomary shelter houses.
GRINDSTONE LAKE
22. Grindstone Lake Mounds.
This group, having only part of a day at my disposal
and being unable at the time to obtain any definite clues as
to their exact location, I was unable to locate. Since that
time Mr. Frank 0. Setter, of Hayward, has informed the
me that they are situated about IJ miles east of Mr.
George Post's summer cottage, this cottage being located
just on the east side of the reservation line. He states that
there are a series of mounds here, all being conical or oval
in form. Some were excavated in about the year 1893.
When examining the bank of Grindstone lake a considerable
amount of quartz chips and fragments were found in the
trough of a small washout" located along the low wooded
shore at a point about one-eighth of a mile east of the
reservation line. These are traces of a workshop site.
The Lac Court Oreilles Region 63
White Fish and Sand Lakes
Only a small part of the west (or north) shore of White
Fish lake is under cultivation, the remainder being in a wild
state. Some of the fields along the road to Sand lake were
examined but no traces of early aboriginal life were en-
countered. This small lake has some cultivated fields on
its north shore which were examined but without success.
The immediate shoreline is elevated from a few to 12 or
more feet above the water. A large portion of the south
shore is occupied by a tamarack swamp. Mr. Walter Lar-
son of Sand lake has a circular catlinite disk-shaped orna-
ment with a perforation through the center which, he states,
was found at the "Four Lake" ranch, at the southeast corner
of the lake. This is about one inch in diameter and less than
one-fourth inch thick. A stone celt and other articles were
also found there. The Chippewa are said to gather wild
rice in Flat and Slim lakes, south of Sand lake. Pipestone
is said to be obtained by them on Pipestone creek in the
eastern part of the reservation.
64 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14. No. 2
OUR INDEBTEDNESS TO THE AMERICAN
INDIAN
LEO J. FRACHTENBERG.
U. S. Smithsonian Institution
Republished, by permission, from The Quarterly Journal of the Society of
American Indians.
Civilization and culture are the result of an extensive
co-operative system to which every individual inhabiting our
globe contributed and still contributes his share. No
achievement, be it literary, economic, or scientific, has ever
been accomplished by a single man or group of people with-
out the aid that has resulted from the efforts of those who
had previously directed their energies toward the attain-
ment of a certain goal. Our present philosophical systems
owe their origin to the studies of human mind and nature
made by ancient and medieval scholars. Our writers draw
their inspiration from the works of their predecessors, and
our great scientific inventions have been facilitated by the
former endeavors of the savants of all nations. Thus, our
present civilization consists of an infinite number of elements
contributed by every people, every nation, and every race
of this universe. American culture, for instance, has been
effected by the combined efforts of the Egyptians, Greeks,
Romans, Teutons, Slavs, Semites, Mongols and others,
each of these, groups contributing its particular, typical
portion.
It should not, however, be supposed that only the higher
and more advanced types of nations participate in the crea-
tion of a certain given civilization. In this respect every-
body's co-operation is invited and welcomed, and no serv-
ices, even those of a most primitive character, are rejected.
We Americans, especially, who are probably the most
civilized and advanced people in the world, owe a great
portion of our progress and success to primitive races, above
all to the American Indian. How many of us, will, in bliss-
ful ignorance, underestimate and even ridicule the intellec-
Our Indebtedness to the American Indian 65
tual prowess of the red man, and boast of the superior
attainments of the white race? And yet, many of our accom-
plishments may be traced directly to the assistance received
from the "red skin." An examination of our culture reveals
to us the fact that the influence of the Indian on our civiliza-
tion has been far-reaching and comprises every phase of our
intellectual, pohtical, social, agricultural and industrial life.
A few years ago the late Dr. Chamberlain, of Clark Uni-
versity, tabulated a list of the contributions made by the
Indian race to our civilization. To that list the present
writer has added further material, a mere glance at which
will convince us of the fact that we owe a great deal to the
Indians of North and South America.
Of the fifty States and Territories that form this great
Union of Stars and Stripes, twenty-five derive their names
from native Indian words; while the number of cities, moun-
tains, lakes, streams, and bays that owe their appellation
to Indian descriptive terms is legion. Our daily speech
abounds in terms and expressions that have been taken
from the various Indian tongues. It is estimated that over
300 \yords of our present vocabulary have been borrowed
from such sources. One only has to think of expres'sions
like buccaneer, canoe, cannibal, chocolate, coyote, ham-
mock, hurricane, hickory, mahogany, maize, moccasin,
pampas, potato, quinine, raccoon, skunk, squaw, tobacco,
toboggan, totem, tomato, tuxedo, wigwam and others, to
get an idea of the extent of this system of borrowing.
But the red man did not confine his contributions to our
vocabulary to single words only. There are a number of
phrases in our language which owe their origin to the Indian
mode of speech. How many Americans to-day use expres-
sions like fire-water, squaw-man, pale-face, medicine-man,
happy-hunting-grounds, to bury the hatchet, to smoke the
pipe of peace, to go on the war-path, etc., without knowing
that these are phrases taken from the Indian languages?
In some instances we have received from the Indian words
and ideas that have become powerful factors in our daily
life. I shall mention only caucus, chautauqua, mugwump,
and Tammany. Can anyone imagine American politics
without "caucus?" Can anyone think of the city of New
York without its "Tammany?"
66 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 2
Let US now turn our attention to the field of literature.
What a wealth of material has been offered by the Indian
to our writers past and present! Indian life and traditions
have been an inexhaustible source of inspiration to English:
speaking novelists, poets, and dramatic writers. Bryant's
"Prairies," Longfellow's "Hiawatha" and "Burial of the
Minnesink," Whittier's "Mogg Muggone," Lowell's "Chip-
pewa Legend," Cooper's "The Last of the Mx)hicans,"
Dryden's "Indian Queen," Campbell's "Gertrude of Wyom-
ing," and many others, are literary products that were
inspired by the red man. The literary fame of men like
Defoe, Kingsley, Lew^ Wallace, Bandelier, King, Haggard,
and Robertson is due mainly to their narratives of Indian
life. And if we add that during the last decade our painters,
sculptors and musicians have become gradually attracted
by Indian subjects, we shall have a complete picture of the
great debt which we owe to the Indian of North and South
America in the field of literature and art. Furthermore,
our history, so resplendent with brilliant characters, has
been embellished, — thanks to the red man, — by a number
of heroes who could easily adorn the history of any nation.
Pocahontas, Pontiac, Tecumseh, Brant and others have won
for themselves a place in the annals of mankind and have
contributed their share to the glorious past of our Nation.
But the bulk of the Indian's contribution to our civiliza-
tion and culture does not lie in our intellectual and literary
attainments. It is our material life that owes him an ever-
lasting debt and upon which he bestowed benefaction after
benefaction, gift after gift. Take our commercial life, for
instance, of which we are so justly proud. Who thinks
to-day of the fact that our railways and railroads follow
exactly the paths, made, trodden, and kept up at an enor-
mous sacrifice, by the ancient, pre-Columbian Indian? As
the late Dr. Chamberlain says, "It was not an empty boast
when, in 1847, an Iroquois chief appealed to the white man
for help upon the following grounds:"
"The Empire State, as you love to call it, was
once laced by our trails from Albany to Buffalo;
trails that we had trodden for centuries; trails w^orn
so deep by the f^et of the Iroquois that they became
your roads of travel, as your possessions gradually
Our Indebtedness to the American Indian 67
ate into those of my people. Your roads still
traverse the same lines of commerce which bound
one part of the Long-House to the other. Have
we, the early possessors of this land, no share in
your history?"
Our industry, stupendous as it is, has been enriched by a
number of substantial devices which we learned from our red
neighbor. Every grocer knows and appreciates the value of
arnotto, the famous dye for staining cheese and butter, but
he is not aware of the fact that it has been given to us by the
Indian. In like manner we received from the red man the
cochineal, a red tinge for animal fibers and for coloring certain
foods, and also a score of other dyes. Ornamental timbers
and dye-woods we owe to the previous knowledge and
experimentation of the Indian; and the various uses to which
we apply mahogany and logwood to-day are the results of
his early, though primitive, enterprises. Llama wool,
alpaca, hemps and fibers are other industrial articles im-
parted to us by the Indian with a generous hand. But above
all, by showing us the usefulness of caoutchuc (India rubber),
which we employ nowadays so extensively in mending old
things and forming new ones, the American native has won
the right to claim the everlasting gratitude of our manu-
facturers. And these items by no means exhaust the long
list of contributions made by the Indian to our industrial
progress.
Our agriculture, too, has been touched by the beneficial in-
fluence emanating from the Indian, for he has taught our
farmers the use of fish manure, the burning over of fields as
a preparation for planting, the planting of corn in hills, and
many other important methods. One need not necessarily
be a farmer to appreciate the value of these agricultural
innovations. The fisherman to to-day in following his occu-
pation, still resorts to a number of devices that originated
wdth the Indian. Thus, he is indebted to him, among other
things, for the use of the fish weir, for the method of catching
fish by means of narcotic poisons, and for the practice of
catching eels and salmon by torch-light. In like manner,
the hunter received his share from the primitive American,
learning from him the application of the blow-gun, so as not
injure the skin of the animal, and the method of trailing and
capturing larger animals and wild beasts.
68 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 2
It has been remarked that we Americans could not hve
without recreations. Has it ever occurred to us how much
we owe to the Indian in this particular respect? We love to
go "canoeing" in the summer; we devote ourselves to "tobog-
ganing" and "snow-shoeing" when our streets and hills are
covered with snow; our sons in college bend their energies
upon winning a "lacrosse championship" for their alma
mater; our South American neighbors spend a great deal of
their time in playing raquette, but few of us know that these
pastimes have been handed down to us by the Indian. Even
our comforts and luxuries are not free from this all-compris-
ing influence. Panama hats, Navajo blankets, hammocks,
moss bags, mocassins, snow-goggles, dog-sleds, micmac grass,
all these are gifts of the aborigines. And tobacco, this curse
and blessing oi our civilization, does it not come from the
Indian? Even if we have to admit that tobacco is doing an
enormous damage to our communities, are we to blame the
Indian for it? The fact remains that its cultivation has
become the basis of prosperity in a number ot our States and
other countries.
If the above-mentioned gifts have entitled the Indian to
our everlasting gratitude, his contributions to our supply of
food have made him the real bcneiactor not only of our own
country, but also of the whole world as well. By teaching
the early settler the planting of potato and maize, he has
changed, as if by a magic touch, hitherto bare and uncul-
tivated regions into thrifty, prosperous States. Suffice it to
say that without the cultivation ol" potatoes and corn,
Ireland, northern Germany, Roumania, and a number of our
wealthiest States would be nothing but wild, unoccupied
regions. And the generosity of the Indian did not stop here.
There is a vast amount of items in our daily food that we
received through the direct or indirect mediation of the
Indian. Tomatoes, squash, hominy, pumpkin, Lima Beans,
pineapple, custard apple, persimmon, cacao, vanilla, manioc,
agave, guava, artichokes, quinoa, pemmican, chewing gum,
peanuts and maple sugar are only some of the articles
obtained from the red man. And we must not torget that
drinks hke mate, labrador tea, chocolate, cocoa, pulque and
chicha are oi Indian origin.
The last, but not least, contribution made by the Indian
has been in the field of medicine. Aside from the fact that
Our Indebtedness to the American Indian 69
our forefathers resorted very often to the medical treatment
of Indian doctors Uke Joe Pye in New England, and that
even to-day we hear so much about Indian cures and Indian
remedies, our great medical and surgical progress has been
greatly facilitated by th-i Indian. Can any one conceive of
the present state of surgery and medicine without cocaine,
quinine, yerba santa, cascara sagrada, jalap, jaborandi
leaves and curari? And these drugs and antidotes lor which
we are indebted to the previous knowledge and experimen-
tation of the Indian.
Such has been the contribution of the "red skin" to our
civilization and culture! And how was "Poor Lo" rewarded
ior his services by the "superior" race? If we should con-
stitute ourselves into a public court and judge honestly our
actions toward the Indian and those of the Indian toward us,
the verdict would decidedly not be in our favor. We have
robbed the Indian of his soil, we have broken his spirit, we
have debauched his mind, we have undermined his health,
and doomed him to destruction. The valiant "Wild Son oi
Yesterday" is no more. His Hie belongs to the past, and he
is slowly dragging his weary feet to the grave, which we, his
"brave conquerors," have dug for him. But while leaving
this world ior the unknown fields, where he expects to be
unit'^d with his ancestors in eternal beatitude, the Indian
takes with him the proud knowledge that his aboriginal life
here has not been useless, that he has contributed his share
to the civilization and culture of mankind, and that this name
will never be forgotten. To use Dr. Chamberlain's words,
"He bequeaths to postcity manifestions of a useful existence
that are more lasting than monuments of stone or
marble . . ." for in the words of one of our poets —
"The memory of the Red Man,
How can it pass away.
While his names of music linger
On each mount, and stream and bay?"
70 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 2
ARCHEOLOGICAL NOTES
A very attractive and useful folder has just be^n issued by the Ghetek
State Bank, of Chetek, Wisconsin. This folder gives a brief account of the
Indian history of northern Wisconsin, and especially of the upper Chip-
pewa valley and the region about the Chetek lakes, and is illustrated with
a number of fine half-tone pictures of modern Chippewa Indians and of
the charming scenery of the region. Its most valuable feature is an
excellent map of the Chetek and Chain o' Lake region in Barron, Rusk and
Chippewa counties. Oh this map there are indicated in red the auto
touring roads, summer hotels, Indian mound groups, cemeteries, battle-
fields, village and camp sites, planting grounds and trading post sites, and
other features of special interest to the summer visitor. Great credit is
due to Mr. Ben F. Faast, of Eau Claire, for suggesting and carrying out
this plan of attracting the attention of tourists and settlers to the history,
scenic beauties and agricultural and other possibilities of this part of
Wisconsin. Other Wisconsin communities and development companies
might do well to follow the example set by the Chetek State Bank in pro-
viding the public with much desired information concerning their attrac-
tions.
Mr. Lee R. Whitney of Milwaukee has entered upon his twelfth year of
service as treasurer of the Wisconsin Archeological Society. During the
entire years of the Society's corporate existence it has had no more faithful
or interested officer. He is one of only four or five men whose names. still
appear on its rolls, who, as long ago as the year 1899 conceived and
nurtured the idea of a strong state organization. Mr. Whitney's friend-
ship is cherished by brother archaeologists in every part of Wisconsin and
in many states of the Union.
The Secretary has received several very pleasant letters from Dr.
Frederick W. Putnam, of Cambridge, Mass., the distinguished American
archaeologist. Although now over eighty years of age Dr. Putnam has not
lost his early interest in Wisconsin's interesting aboriginal earthworks and
other remains. The Society has always been proud to carry on its rolls
the names of such men as Dr. Putnam, Dr. Frederick Starr and Prof.
Warren K. Moorehead.
In the May issue of "Rod and Gun in Canada," a magazine for sportsmen,
published at Woodstock, Ontario, there appears an interesting short
article by Col. G. E. Laidlaw on "Primitive Fishhooks," in which the bone
and copper fishhooks of the aborigines are described largely by means of
quotations from the publications of American archaeologists.
There have been elected to membership in the Wisconsin Archeological
Society since the last issue of the Wisconsin Archeologist, Hon. W. G.
Bissell, Miss Eleanor Sauer, Miss Rose Blankenhorn, Miss Viola Friedman,
Archeological Notes 71
Miss Katherine Burns, Mr. Carl Baur, Miss Emma M. Vollmer, Mr. J.
B. Huenink, Miss Margaret R. Brewster, Mr. Harold W. Cdnnell, Miss
Clara L. Phillips, Miss Bertha M. Kerch, and Mr. M. H. Wengler, of
Milwaukee; Mr. B. J. Dockendorff, La Crosse; Mr. A. M. May, Waukon
la.; Mr. R. S. Owen and Mr. Stewart Turneaure, Madison; and Mr.
Robert McFarlane, Waupun.
Members of the Society are urged to read Professor Warren K. Moore-
head's new book, "The American Indian in the United States." This work
is devoted to a consideration of "the present condition of the Indian, his
political history and other topics." It covers a period from 1850 to 1914.
Among its many chapters several of the most interesting treat of 'The
White Earth Scandal" and "The Sioux and the Messiah Craze." In
March 1909 Professor Moorehead was appointed a special agent by the
Board of Indian Commissioners and was sent to investigate conditions on
the White Earth reservation.
The book is illustrated with a large number of fme plates some of which
are reproductions of the fme photographs of Rodman Wanamaker.
The Spanish Indian medal illustrated in the frontispiece of this issue of
the Wisconsin Archeologist was found in an Indian grave at Prairie du
Chien, Wisconsin, in 1864. It is supposed to have been presented by the
Spanish government to Huisconsin, a Sauk and Fox chief. A full des-
cription of this medal, which is in the State Historical Museum, was given
in the last issue of the Wisconsin Archeologist (Vol. 14, No. 1.)
Mr. O. L. Obermaier of Milwaukee has in his collection several of the
interesting socketted copper spearpoints with ornamented blades. He is
the owner of a quite large number of fme flint implements from Wisconsin
and Missouri.
We regret to announce the death during the month of March, of Mr.
E. C. Perkins, of Prairie du Sac, one of the older members of this Society.
Mr. Perkins was one of Sauk County's wealthiest men. His death calls
to mind the fact that some of our members, who can well afford to make
such provision, are losing an opportunity to perpetuate their interest in
the work of the Wisconsin Archeological Society and the cause of future
archeological investigation in Wisconsin, by bequeathing to the Society
small or large funds to be used by our successors in advancing this im7
portant work. Members and friends may if they desire designate that
gifts are made such for particular purposes such as conducting researches
in their home counties and publishing the results, for securing the pre
servation by purchase of notable examples of aboriginal monuments, for
acquiring archeological specimens and collections, and for providing for
the education of young men for future service in the field of American
archeological science.
We are informed that Mr. Frank G. Logan, a member of the Society, has
increased to the sum of $30,000 his fund for the maintenance of the Logan
museum of Beloit College. The collections of this museum are of an
72 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 2
archeological and ethnological character. This generous gift will make it
possible to further increase their already great value to students of Ameri-
can archeaology.
Secretary Brown desires members and others who have such specimens
in their collections favor him with descriptions, outlines and photographs
of the old Indian silver breeches. It is desired to soon publish an article
descriptive of these.
The Wisconsin Archeological Society has always carried on its member-
ship roll the names of a considerable number of lady members. Of their
support of an devotion to its work it has been and is justly proud. It has
thirty-eight lady members at the present time. Mrs. Charles Catlin,
Mrs. Mary R. Merrill and Mrs. A. K. Hamilton, of Milwaukee, and Mrs.
Caroline E. Kehl, of Oconomowoc, are life members. Miss Alice E.
Chapman and Miss Minna M. Kunckell, of Milwaukee; Mrs. Mary R.
Mann, of Woodruff, and Mrs. Mary J. Wilmarth, of Chicago, have been
members since the inception of the work in this state. Mrs. Jessie R.
Skinner, of Madison, has always been very active in the work of encourag-
ing the preservation and marking of prehistoric Indian monuments and
sites of historic interest. She has twice served as chairman of the Land-
marks Committee of the Wisconsin Federation of Women's Clubs. Her
achievements have deserved the appreciation of the citizens of the com-
monwealth. Her successor, Mrs. Edwin H. Van Ostrand, of Madison, is a
lady of recognized ability and enthusiasm for this important task. She
also has been twice reappointed to the head of this important division of
the work of the Clubs.
Other ladies who have in one way and another shown themselves to be
devoted friends of our cause are Miss Mar>' E. Stewart, Miss Elizabeth
Bradford, Mrs. Sophie Miller, Miss Ida Fernekes and Mrs. Emilie Reu-
melin, of Milwaukee; Mrs. E. C. Wiswall, Mrs. John G. Woolley and Mrs.
Amy D. Winship, of Madison; Miss Emma Richmond, Lodi; Miss
Jennie Baker, Prairie du Sac; Miss Althea R. Sherman, Mc Gregor; and
Miss Julia A. Lunn, Beloit. Nearly all of the ladies mentioned have at one
time or another served on one or more of the Society's standing committees.
Some have never failed to attend the state field meetings held during the
past nine years.
Mr. C. V. Fuller of Grand Ledge, Michigan, a well-known collector of
Indian materials, calls our attention to the fact that he has in his collection
a fine example, found near his home, of the Hint ceremonial knives de-
scribed in the January, 1915, issue of the Wisconsin Archeologist. It is
made of blue hornstone, is 9 inches in length, and its blade 2 inches wide
at its widest part. Mr. Joseph Ringeisen, of Milwaukee, has in his collec-
tion another specimen from that state made of like material. Col. Geo.
E. Laidlaw informs the editor of the finding of two specimens in Ontario.
Dr. H. M. Whelpley states that he has a very fine specimen measuring
12^ inches in length. He has long endeavoted to locate the quarry from
which the material used in making such knives was obtained. He sur-
mises that most of the Wisconsin specimens migrated from Missouri.
Archeological Notes ' 73
Mr. Ira M. Buell, curator of the Logan museum, at Beloit, has returned
from a trip to Florida. While there he explored several shell mounds in
the vicinity of Palm Beach and was successful in securing a large number
of interesting specimens of shell implements, pottery and other articles.
Wau-Bun Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, at Portage,
are causing to be placed in the old Fort Winnebago cemetery, at that city, a
huge boulder, properly inscribed, in memory of the pioneers of the old
fort days as well as some of the soldiers of the seven wars, who lie buried
within the enclosure, namely; the Revolutionary war. War of 1812, the
Seminole war, Mexican war. Black Hawk war, War of the Rebellion and
the Spanish-American war.
The Portage Daughters, since their organization, have been very
prominently identified with this work of marking places of historic interest,
as witness the monument to Marquette and .Joliet, the site of the first
church in central Wisconsin, and the spot made historic by the surrender
of the Winnebago Indian, Red Bird, It is hoped by the society to make
the marking of the site of the old fort its next pretentious undertaking.
The Annual Archeological Report, 1914, of the Ontario Provincial
Museum, is of an exceptionally interesting character. Dr. Roland B.
Orr, is the director of this museum. It contains interesting illustrated
articles on "The Petuns or Tobacco Nation," on "Lacrosse," both un-
signed, but presumably contributed by the director; on "The Pre-
Christian Cross," by Very Rev. W. R. Harris, and on "Ontario Effigy
Pipes in Stone," (Third Paper), by Col. Geo. E. Laidlaw. The early home
of the Petuns is shown to have been in Ontario (1616). Here in 1649, the
Huron confederacy, of which they formed an integral part, was attacked
by the warlike Iroquois and their villages destroyed.
"For the next fifty years their history is a pitiful record of intense
suffering, of defeats, of famine and flight from pursuing enemies. Joined
by a remnant of Hurons, who fled to them for refuge, the Petuns abandoned
their country and by weary wandering over land and water at last found
shelter (1652) at Mackinaw. The Iroquois with the scent and pertinacity
of hounds followed them and forced them to take refuge on Noquet
Island near Green Bay, Wisconsin. In 1653 they were with the Algonquins
and wintered at Teaontorai, an Algonquin village seventy or eighty miles
south of Sault Sainte Marie. Here they were joined by a band of Neutrals
and formed an alliance with the Ottawas. With the Ottawas the Petuns
now roamed into the territory of the Dakotahs; driven from here after a
stubborn fight they retreated to the headwaters of the Mississippi. Driven
from here they found shelter at Chegoimegan, Wis. In time the main
body returned to Mackinaw. Leaving Mackinaw they descended to
Detroit; then they are found in scattered bands at Niagara, Sandwich
and other places. The tribe as a body now settled at Sandusky (1751),
from which place they were removed by the United States Government to
Kansas (1842, and finallv to Indian Territorv, now the state of Oklahoma
(189-!)."
Col. Laidlaw's paper on effigy pipes is very interesting and" well illus-
'tratcd. In the course of his investigations he has found a distinct class of
74 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14. No. 2
these pipes in the St. Lawrence Basin which come down into the historic
period and which are probably of Huron-Iroquois origin. Wisconsin
students should secure and read his paper.
Members of the Society are urged to purchase back issues of The Wis-
consin Archeologist. They may be had at 50 cents a number. Some
issues will soon be exhausted.
Vol. 14 September, 1915
No. 3
THE
WISqONSIN
ARCHEOLOGIST
LAKE WINGRA
PUBLISHED BY THE
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
MILWAUKEE
Wisconsin Archeological
Society
MILWAUKEE, WIS.
Incorporated March 23, 1903, for the purpose of advancing the study and
preservation of Wisconsin antiquities.
OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
G. A WEST . Milwaukee
VICE-PRESIDENTS
DR. S. A. BARRETT Milwaukee
DR. ORRIN THOMPSON Neenah
W. H. ELLSWORTH Milwaukee
W. A. TITUS Fond du Lac
H. E. COLE - Baraboo
DIRECTORS
VjU. E. J. W. NOTZ ...Milwaukee
TREASURER
LEE R. WHITNEY Milwaukee
SECRETARY
CHARLES E. BROWN . Madipon
COMMITTEES
STATE SURVEY— Ellis B. Usher, L. R. Whitney, G. R. Fox, C. E. Brown, Dr.
S. A. Barrett, Dr. Louis Falge, H. L. Skavlem.
MOUND PRESERVATION — Prof. Albert S. Flint, Prof. L. B. Wolfenson, Mrs.
E. H. Van Ostrand, P. V. Lawson, J. M. Pyott, B. F. Faast, T. L. Miller, R.
P. Ferry. Dr. N. P. Hulst, C. W. Norris, Dr. N. A. Gray, C. L. Dering, B. O.
Bishop, R. S. Owen, Grant Fitch, G. H. Squier, Chas. Lapham, Rev. J. H.
Huhn, W. W. Gilman, Dr. A. F. Heising, Dr. F. C. Rogers.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS— Henry L. Ward, Prof. A. H. Sanford, Dr. G. L. Collie,
Mrs. Jessie R. Skinner, C. L. Fortier, Mrs. E. C. Wiswall, H. P. Hamilton,
J. P. Schumacher, Hon. Emil Baensch, W. W. Warner, B. H. Brah, Most Rev.
S. G. Messmer, Dr. Frederick Starr, Dr. W. C. Daland, H. H. Schufeldt, Jr.,
Dr. J. J. Davis, R. H. Becker, Col. G. Pabst, Mrs. Mary J. Wilmarth, Hon. A.
J. Horlick, F. H. Lyman, W. P. Clarke, Dr. W. H. Brown.
MEMBERSHIP— Jos. Ringeisen, B. W. Davis, Rev. L. E. Drexel, Paul Joers, O.
L. Obermaier, W. A. Phillips, Miss Julia A. Lunn, L. R. Gagg, A. Crozier, A.
Gerth, W. A. Wenz, C. G. Schoewe, W. H. Vogel, Miss Minna M. Kunckell,
A. W. Pond, E. C. Tagatz, W. A. Kraatz, A. H. Quan, J. V. Berens, Miss
Emma Richmond, A. T. Newman, H. O. Younger, Thomas Bardon, W. H.
Zuehlke. Prof. F. G. Mueller.
PRESS— John Poppendieck, Jr., A. O. Barton, E. R. Mclntyre, R. H. Plumb,
Miss Mary E. Stewart, A. G. Braband, H. A. Smythe, Jr.
MAN MOUND — Jacob Van Orden, Dr. W. G. McLachlan, Miss Jennie Baker.
SESSIONS
These are held in the Lecture Room in the Library-Museum
Building, in Milwaukee, on the third Monday of each month, at
8 P. M.
During the months of July to October no meetings will be held.
MEMBERSHIP FEES
Life Members, $25.00 . Sustaining Members, $5.00
Annual Members $2.00
All communications in regard to the Wisconsin Archeological Society or to the
"Wisconsin Archeologist" should be addressed to Charles E. Brown, Secretary and
Curator, Office, State Historical Museum, Madison, Wisconsin, v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Vol. 14, No. 3
ARTICLES
Page
Lake Wingra, Charles E. Brown 75
Archeological Notes 118
ILLUSTRATIONS
Winnebago Chief Bad Thunder Frontispiece
Map of Lake Wingra Facing page 76
Lake Wingra Facing page 78
Plate ~ Facing Page
1. Oregon Street Group 82
2. Dividing Ridge Group 84
3. Linear Mound in Dividing Ridge Group 86
4. Greenbush Mounds 90
5. Vilas Park Group 92
6. South Warren Street Group 94
7. Winnebago Girl 98
8. Jefferson Street Group 102
9. Edgewood Group 104
10. Wingra Group 106
11. Details of Effigies in Wingra Group 108
12. Cemetery Woods Group 110
13. Panther Effigies in Cemetery Woods Group 112
14. Lake Forest Group No. 1 114
15. Lake Forest Group No. 2 116
16. Vilas Group 118
Figure Page
i. Lewis Effigy 93
2. Bear Effigy : 96
3. Monroe Street Group 101
4. Edgewood Bird Effigy 104
5. Nakoma Mounds 109
6. Turtle Effigy in Lake Forest Group No. 2 Ill
Tiad Thunder, Winnebago Chief
The Wisconsin Archeologist
Quarterly Bulletin Published by the Wisconsin Archeological Society
Vol. 14 MADISON, WIS., SEPTEMBER, 1915 No. 3
LAKE WINGRA
Charles E. Brown
Secretary and Curator, Wisconsin Archeological Society
Introduction
Lake Wingra is the smallest of the three beautiful lakes
between which Madison, the capital city of Wisconsin, is
situated. Its greatest length is one and one-fourth miles and
its greatest width one-half mile. Its maximum depth is
fourteen feet and its average depth ten feet. Its elevation
above sea level is 849 feet. The lake has a marl bottom,
this mud being from fifteen to thirty feet in depth.
When the first white settlers came to the site of Madison
in 1837, this lake was surrounded on all sides by more or
less extensive tracts of marsh and swamp land these indicat-
ing by their extent that at some time in the distant past its
water area must have been nearly three times as great as it
is at present. The most extensive marsh and swamp areas
were located along the eastern and southeastern portions of
the lake. In recent years this original area of marsh land
has been greatly diminished. Since 1905 a tract of such land
on its northern and northeastern shore, where the margin
of marsh was not very wide, has been converted into firm
land by filling it with marl dredged from the lake bottom.
This now forms a part of Henry Vilas park. The reclama-
tion of the extensive marshy area on the south shore of the
lake is now progressing under the direction of a local real
estate firm. At the western end of the lake a similar under-
taking is in progress.
MAP INDEX
The numbers refer to the numbering of the map and
of the text descriptions.
Oregon Street Group
Dividing Ridge Group
Greenbush Mounds
Vilas Park Group
9.
9a.
10.
11.
5. Vilas Park Mound and Village Site 12.
5a. Lewis Effigy 13.
6. South Warren Street Group 14,
7. Bear Effigy and Curtis Mounds 15.
8. Monroe Street Group 16.
Jefferson Street Group
Lincoln Street Mound
Edgewood Group
Wingra Group
Cemetery Woods Group
Nakoma Mounds
Lake Forest Group No. 1
Lake Forest Group No. 2
Vilas Group
Camp and village sites are indicated by dotted areas, trails by
Ijroken lines and outlines of former marshy areas by dotted lines.
Lake Wingra 77
Extending along the eastern shore of the lake there for-
merly was a steep moranic ridge, portions of which remain,
the remainder having been levelled by the operation of two
large sand and gravel pits. The refuse from one of these
pits has been employed in filling some of the marsh between
the base of the ridge on its western side and the lake shore.
This picturesque ridge, known as the Dividing or Dead
Lake ridge, separated Lake Monona from Lake Wingra.
From the northeast corner of Lake Wingra to the present
location of St. Mary's hospital the general direction of this
ridge was easterly. From this point to its termination near
the Wingra canal crossing of the Oregon road its direction
was to the southeast. Its former greatest elevation has been
given as about seventy-five feet. Its highest part appears to
have been that lying directly south of St. Mary's hospital,
between the shores of the two lakes. At this point the strip
of firm land at its base was very narrow, on the Lake Monona
side less than an ordinary city block in width and on the
Lake Wingra side much narrower. Scattered oak trees grew
on its sides and crest. The elevated land on the north shore
of the lake, now occupied by the streets and residences of
Wingra Park, rises to a height of from twenty-six to thirty-
three feet above the level of the water. At the western end
of the lake the rise of the land from the marshy margin to
the higher land beyond is more gradual. The most prominent
knolls in the Lake Forest woods, on the south shore, are
elevated from sixty-five to seventy-five feet above the lake.
The lands about Lake Wingra were in the early days of set-
tlement of the Four Lakes region covered with a more or
less dense forest of oak trees. Of this original forest a few
trees remain in Henry Vilas park and on the public oval and
lots adjoining. Others are in the pasture on the Edgewood
academy grounds. Some old paks continue to exist on the
remnant of the extremity of the Dividing ridge located east
of the Oregon road. At Lake Forest, on the south shore of
the lake, the forest is rather dense but largely second growth
timber. Other woodlands about the lake are the tract known
as Wingra, which is already being invaded by suburban
homes; the so-called Cemetery woods on the north side of
the Illinois Central Railway track; the Buell woods on the
west shore, and the Bartlett woods lying a short distance to
78 • WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14. No. 3
the southwest of the lake. Two creeks enter the lake, one at
its western end and the other through the Lake Forest
woods. On the margin of the lake are a number of fine
springs which constitute the chief source of its water supply.
Two of these are on the Lake Forest shore, one being choked
at this time by a growth of water cress. Another fine spring
known as the Gorham spring, is located on the Verona road,
at the western end of the lake. One on the Edgewood shore
is in use as a watering place for the Academy cattle. The
Bryant spring on the edge of the marsh south of the eastern
end of the lake, and the White Cross spring adjoining the
ice houses on the Monroe road, on the north shore, supply
spring water to many Madison homes. Two fine springs,
not as well known as any of those noted, are located in the
Lake Forest marsh by the side of a road leading across the
marsh from the old Vilas (Gay) farm to the woods. These
several springs were no doubt greatly appreciated by the
Indian residents of this region. The trails passed some of
them and Indian camps were located nearby.
In an article published in the Wisconsin Historical Col-
lections (V. 7) Mr. J. A. Noonan states that the Indian
name of this lake, "Wingra, or Duck lake," was obtained by
him from one Joe Pelkie, a French and Indian resident on
the site of Madison, in 1837. Maps of 1844 to 1848 give the
name of this body of water as Lake Weengra. Since the
fifties the spelling of this name has become altered to that
now in use. It does not occur in the Winnebago, Chippewa
or Menomini vocabularies at present available. The Win-
nebago Indians who camped on its shores from earliest
times, are said to have called this lake Ki-chunk-och-hep-er-
rah, meaning the "place where the turtle emerges," a name
given it no doubt because of the large number of mud and
snapping turtles which are even to-day numerous denizens
of its waters.
The lake has also been called Dead lake because of a
former mistaken popular belief that it had no outlet. Maps
prior to 1837 showed no connecting stream between lakes
Wingra and Monona, though one has always existed. This
outlet, first known as Weengra creek, and later as Murphy's
creek, has been dredged and its course straightened and is
now known as the Wingra canal.
^Iv^SflH
^^^^^^^^1
R
llH^^I
W\ i t;
*-*■■
f-, n
Lake Wingra 79
The great abundance of the fish in its waters and of the
game on its shores made this lake a favorite place of Indian
residence. Mr. George W. Stoner and other early settlers
of Madison inform us that at times the local lakes were
fairly black in places with flocks of ducks and geese. Quail,
partridge and prairie chickens "could be counted by the
thousands." Deer were plentiful. The black bear was occa-
sionally seen. Wolves, foxes, lynx, wild cats, raccoons, skunks,
woodchucks, and other animals of smaller size were numer-
ous. Mink, muskrat and otter inhabited the marshes and
lake banks. Fish of a number of species were very abundant
in the waters. The dredging of several large elk antlers from
Lake Wingra indicates that these animals also once roamed
through the forests on its shores.
A limited quantity of wild rice grew in the western end of
the lake. This has now disappeared. For a sufficient supply
of this nutritious cereal the Indians must have resorted to
some of the other lakes or connecting waterways. The yellow
water lily (Nuphar advena) whose tuberous roots were often
referred to by early Wisconsin travelers as "Indian pota-
toes," grew in quantities in several of the shallower places
in the lake. In the autumn acorns, which were an importamt
article of food with the Indians, could be gathered in great
quantities in the forests.
Other nuts, as well as berries of a number of kinds, were
abundant.
Only scraps of the early Indian history of Lake Wingra
are preserved to students of local history. It is evident from
the evidences of aboriginal occupation upon its shores that
this small lake was for several centuries at least a favorite
resort of the red men. Winnebago villages and camps have
been located upon the banks of this as well as of the other
Madison lakes since stone age times. According to Winne-
bago tradition no other tribe has ever intruded upon these
lake lands. From the time of the coming of the first white
settlers to 1870, or later, small bands or families of the
Hochungara, as these Indians call themselves, continued to
camp upon the lake banks from time to time. Favorite spots
for the location of such camps appear to have been on the
ridge at the eastern end of the lake, on the site of Vilas park
and adjoining lands, and in the Lake Forest woods, where at
night their camp fires could be seen from across the lake.
80 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14. No. 3
According to Mr. Stoner the Winnebago had a burial
ground on the ridge about where the Pieh gravel pit is now
located. These graves were covered with small logs which
were laid upon them to prevent their being disturbed by
dogs or wild animals. In removing the gravel at this place
in recent years Indian bones were frequently disturbed.
In fishing and hunting upon the lake the Indians used
log canoes. Mr. L. B. Rowley informed the writer that some
years ago a number of these canoes could be seen in the water
at the western end of the lake where they had probably been
sunk by their Indian owners for safe-keeping during their
absence. A canoe preserved in the State Historical Museum,
at Madison, was obtained in 1908 from the marsh on the
south shore of the lake. This specimen is made from a bass-
wood log and is eighteen feet long and seventeen inches
wide at its middle. It is said to have been brought down the
Rock river from above Horicon, into the Yahara, and
through lakes Kegonsa, Waubesa and Monona to Madison,
by a Winnebago Indian, in 1895. He came to the lake every
autumn until the year 1902 to trap muskrats and mink.
On the occasion of his last visit, in that year, he probably
secreted it in the marsh where it has since been found.
One of the principal Indian trails in the region of the Four
Lakes lead from Pheasant Branch (Peena) at the northwest
corner of Lake Mendota (Wonk-shick-o-meek-er-rah, where
the man sleeps), in a southerly and southeasterly direction
to the district between Lakes Wingra and Monona, thence
across the land between the eastern base of the Dividing
ridge and the latter lake following in a general way the
course of the present Oregon road, thence across the tongue
of the ridge and Wingra canal, and in a. southeasterly and
easterly direction to the foot of Lake Monona. Crossing the
Yahara (Catfish) at this place a lateral is reported to have
continued northward to the Winnebago village and trading
post site at Winnequah, on the east shore of this lake,
while the main trail proceeded in an easterly direction for a
short distance to a point where it united with the Mendota-
Monona-Waubesa trail. Early maps show that another
trail (probably uniting with the first at the Monona-Yahara
crossing) traversed the land to the south of Lake Wingra
and then proceeded in a northerly and northwesterly direction
Lake Wingra 81
to Pheasant Branch, the one-time site of a Winnebago village.
Doubtless from a point just north of Lake Wingra this trail
and that first described were identical. A trail traversing
the north shore of Lake Wingra came from the direction of
present Greenbush, skirted the present Edgewood grounds
and then continued across the present Consumers' Ice Com-
pany property. Somewhere northwest of this point it prob-
ably connected with the first mentioned trail. It was prob-
ably also only a continuation of either the trail which is
said to have followed the crest of the Dividing ridge or that
at the eastern base of the ridge. Laterals must have con-
nected the camp and village sites on the lake lands not di-
rectly in the course of the main trails described with these
aboriginal thoroughfares. The courses of the trails as laid
down on the accompanying map are only approximately
accurate.
The Lake Wingra Winnebago in the days previous to the
coming of the white settlers depended for their supplies
upon the traders located at Pheasant Branch, on Lake Men-
dota; Winnequah on Lake Monona; on the Oliver Armel
post on the site of Madison and the Rasdall post near the
outlet of Lake Kegonsa. Other traders from Lake Koshko-
nong and elsewhere also visited the region to traffic with
the natives.
Mr. Stoner, in an article published in the Madison Demo-
crat (Dec. 3, 1899), tells of the great numbers of the Indians
encamped about the local lakes in the thirties. He says that
it was "no uncommon sight to see from 500 to 1,000 Indians"
on the site of Madison in those years. Other early settlers
state that bands of Pottawatomi, Chippewa and Sioux also
occasionally visited this region at that time. Many early
Madison settlers remember the bands of Indians, sometimes
of considerable numbers, moving through Madison over the
Monroe street road, the men usually mounted on ponies,
the women frequently walking. Other ponies carried the
camp equipage and younger children. Altogether they were
a picturesque company as they moved in one direction or
the other to distant camping grounds.
The Indian remains of Lake Wingra have attracted the
attention in past years of several well-known archaeologists
who have visited some of the groups and published papers
82 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 3
and articles concerning them. These were Dr. I. A. Lapham,
Rev. S. D. Peet, Prof. T. H. Lewis and Prof. Gyrus Thomas.
Peet's descriptions appear in articles in the American Anti-
quarian, Wisconsin Historical Collections, Proceedings of
the American Association for the Advancement of Science,
and in his book, Prehistoric America (v. 2). His descrip-
tions and figures are inexact and his conclusions often of a
more or less visionary character. They are of little real value
to the student.
Other references to the mounds on this lake appear in
the several histories of Dane county. These are largely
copied or compiled from some of the above sources.
Dr. Arlow B. Stout, then a student in the University of
Wisconsin, made surveys of the mound groups on JefTerson
street, on the Edgewood grounds and in the Wingra (Mar-
ston) and Cemetery woods in the years 1906 to 1908. In
the latter year the writer continued this necessary work,
bringing it to its present state of completion.
INDIAN REMAINS
Oregon Street Group. (Plate 1). This group of Indian
mounds was situated on the east side of Oregon street (a
part of the Madison to Oregon road) between Pine and Cedar
streets, in South Madison. They lay at the base of the west-
ern slope of the Dividing ridge. A short distance to the
north of their location is a large sand and gravel pit. On
the top and slopes of the ridge is a grove of old oak trees and
on its crest traces of a former road. Directly across the
Oregon road from the mounds is a tract of low marshy
ground which extends to the bank of the Wingra canal.
Prof. Cyrus Thomas, a former officer of the Bureau of
American Ethnology, has given a figure and description of
this group of Indian earthworks in the Twelfth Annual Re-
port of the Bureau (pp. 46-47, fig. 6). Both are inaccurate as
a comparison of his figure with that made by the writer on
August 20, 1910, will show. No trace of the two conical
mounds of which he found traces in the "old fields," at the
northern end of the line of mounds can now be seen. His
mound No. 1, which he describes as a "double excavation.
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Lake Wingra 83
one portion, the other in the form of a horseshoe," proved
to be nothing more than the embankment marking the site
of a former small building, probably of a powder house of
the quarrymen, and adjoining which is a mutilated oval
mound. His mounds No. 3, 4 and 5, two of which he de-
scribes as rings of earth, and the other which he figures ^s of
horseshoe shape, were mutilated circular and oval mounds,
which were excavated by relic hunters previous to his visit
to the group in 1889. Of his mound No. 7 only the faintest
trace remained. No. 8 was not a mound but a natural sur-
face formation.
In the road near the northwest corner of Pine and Oregon
streets was a remnant of a partly destroyed small conical
mound. On the crest of the ridge at a distance of about 175
feet northeast of mound No. 1, is a remnant of a small
linear mound. This is about 27 feet in length and 12 feet in
width. Its height is about If feet. It is within about one
hundred feet of the edge of the old gravel pit and was
very probably wrecked because of its lying across the line of
ihe ridge road.
The mounds in the series at the base of the ridge were
from 9 inches to a foot in height. What their elevations were
before being excavated can not be determined but they were
probably never much higher. Their diameters are given
in the accompanying plat. Of the mounds of this group
only mound No. 6 remains, the remainder being obliterated
by the recent erection of a house, by Mr. Frank Coster, on
the lot on which they were located. No. 6 lies on a lot be-
tween the houses of Coster and J. B. Johnson.
2. Dividing Ridge Group (Plates 2 and 3). The crest
of the high, steep-sided ridge which separates Lakes Wingra
and Monona was in the year 1859 occupied by a large num-
ber of Indian earthworks. A plat of this system of mounds,
prepared in that year by Dr. Increase A. Lapham, shows a
series of twenty-five mounds distributed along the top and
a few of them situated on or extending down the slope of
the ridge. The mounds were separated from one another by
only short distances, the two farthest separated from each
other being less than 80 feet apart. The width of the ridge
crest was from about 30 to 150 feet.
84 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 3
Of the total number of mounds seven appear to have been
conical or oval mounds, thirteen were linear and five effigy or
animal-shaped mounds. Of the effigy mounds two were evi-
dently intended to represent birds. One was an effigy of the
familiar turtle and two effigies of the common so-called
panther type. With two exceptions all of the linear mounds
were examples of the very common straight or embankment-
shaped form. The two exceptions were a tapering linear and
a straight linear having a circular termination at one end.
At the time of the writer's first visit to this ridge crest, in
1908, all of these mounds had disappeared but those num-
bered 1, 2, 3 and 4. These occupied the undisturbed portion
of the ridge, between the two gravel pits. Measurements
taken at that time showed these earthworks to have the fol-
lowing dimensions:
No. 1. Diameters 30x70 feet, 9 feet high.
No. 2. Diameter 60 feet, 9 feet high.
No. 3. Length 70, width 30 feet, 5 feet high. A portion of
the southern extremity has been removed since these meas-
urements were taken.
No. 4. Length originally about 100 feet, width 25 feet,
about 4 feet high. From the southern extremity of the last
mound about 30 feet had been removed, its former extent
being, however, still plainly indicated on the surface of the
ridge. Between mounds No. 3 and 4 there were unmistak-
able surface indications of the recent removal of a conical
mound having a base measurement of about 35 feet. Lap-
ham shows a bird effigy at this place. This was evidently
an error in platting since no trace of wing-shaped appendages
could be found on the undisturbed surface of the ridge on
either side of the conical mound.
Beyond the removed extremity of mound No. 4, for a dis-
tance of about 100 feet and extending to the edge of the
Keyes gravel pit, the sod had been removed exposing the
burned and broken stones of several fireplaces and plentiful
indications of a former ffint chipping site. It was plain that
Indian wigwams had at one time been located at this place.
Doubtless this camp site originally extended further along
the ridge top. In digging for relics at the side of and near the
extremity of this last mound two Madison boys, according
to the statement made fo the writer by one of them, had un-
1^.
a
5'
T.ake Wingra 85
earthed the bones of a human skeleton. This burial lay on
its side.
In the levelling of mound No. 2, Mr. J. H. Pieh, the owner
of the gravel pit, which is rapidly cutting away the north-
erly end of the remaining section of the ridge, disturbed sev-
eral burials. These were probably bone burials since the
skulls and bones were scattered through the earth.
All of these mounds are built of black soil. As there could
hardly have been a sufficient quantity of such earth on the
narrow ridge crest, most, if not all of it, must have been
carried up the steep sides from the marshy ground below, a
task which could not have been otherwise than very diffi-
cult and tedious.
In the Milwaukee Daily Sentinel of January 2, 1860, Dr.
Lapham published an account of the excavation by himself
of one of the mounds on the ridge (No. 1).
Opening an Ancient Mound Near Madison, Wisconsin
{Report by I. A. Lapham, Esq., to the American
Ethnological Society.)
Travellers approaching the beautiful city of Madison, the capital of
the young State of Wisconsin, by the Milwaukee and Mississippi Rail-
road, from the East, are conveyed across one of the lakes that give so
much interest to this charming locality. Looking toward the South,
they will fmd the lake bounded by a ridge of considerable elevation
the crest of which is serrated by a series of ancient monuments of earth-
work, the mysteries of whose origin and nature have not yet been fully
found out. Their sharp outline, projected against the sky for a back-
ground, with the scattered trees and shrubs, all reflecting in the clear still
water of the lake, render this spot quite conspicuous and beautiful.
Of this remarkable ridge, which divides the waters of lake Monona
(the third of the series) from lake Wingra, with its ancient earthworks,
a sketch (Fig. 1) and a plot (Fig. 2) are given on plate 2. The slopes
were steep, especially on the south side; the crest narrow, the soil a
loose gravel, (drift of the geologists,) but slightly compacted with clay
or other material. At the highest point, where the two largest mounds
are situated, it has an elevation quite abrupt, of seventy-five feet,
upon which the mounds make an addition of ten feet. In some parts,
the ridge is covered with groves of small trees, at others it is naked.
By invitation of Geo. P. Delaplaine, Esq., of Madison, I visited
that place on the 1st of June, 1859, in company with Prof. J. D.
Whitney, the Geologist, for the purpose of making a survey and ex-
ploration of the interesting group of mounds, before they should
86 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14 No. 3
become lost by the progress of "improvement" in that direction.
Already some of them have been injured by the opening of roads, and
by the idle curiosity of persons who have made slight excavations. It
would be fortunate if other landed proprietors would follow the good
example of Mr. Delaplaine, and preserve an accurate record of such
ancient works as they are about to destroy. Many very interesting
animal effigies, (mounds in the forms of animals,) have already been
levelled by the plough, or otherwise injured or effaced.
The peculiar form of this ridge, the nature of the soil, and its position
between two valleys, exposing it to the drying effect of the winds, render
it peculiarly fitted for the preservation of anything that may have been
buried under the mounds. The steep slopes fall away from the base of
the mounds on either side, thus carrying off immediately the falling
rain. The earth composing the mound was of fine material, well com-
pacted, and still furthr protected by a dense sod of prairie grass
and weeds; so that very little water could penetrate it; and the depth
was such as to exclude all the destroying effects of frost in winter. We
were therefore convinced that, if any of the original mound-builders
are anywhere preserved, we might look for them here; and in this we
were not disappointed.
These mounds, as is usual in such groups in Wisconsin, present a
variety of forms — among them the circular, oblong, attenuated and
animal-shaped. They are situated on the north-west quarter of sec-
tion twenty-six, in township seven, and range nine of the government
surveys. From the top of these mounds there is a very fine and ex-
tensive view of the country around, suggesting at once the idea that
this may have been a sort of look-out station or sentry post from which
to watch the approach of the enemy.
The largest mound on this ridge, the one excavated by us, has an
oval form, the basal dimensions being seventy and fifty feet; the
height ten feet. It was built upon the convex surface of the ridge, so
that the depth of the mound in the middle was a little less than ap-
peared from the outside. The exploration was commenced on the
southeast side by running a horizontal drift from the base toward the
center. This brought us a little below the original surface.
Our first discovery was the remains of a human skeleton that had
b3en buried about three feet below the top of the mound. The position
of this skeleton was horizontal, the head toward the west. The bones
were very much decayed, the teeth and a few of the larger bones being
all that were sufficiently strong to be taken out. At the foot was the
skull of a skunk, and also a few teeth, arid a portion of the jaw of another
animal, apparently a fox. Whether these had been buried with the
human body, or had burrowed into the mound on their own account is
not easily determined, though the latter supposition is rendered prob-
able by the good state of preservation of the skull of the skunk.
This skeleton was doubtless buried in the mound, since the original
construction, as is often done by the Indian tribes. Its decayed con-
dition was owing to its position near the surface, rather than to its
great age.
Lake Wingra 87
Our work was temporarily arrested by the high wind, which swept
with full force over the ridge, and kept the opening we had made
involved in a cloud of fine dust, rendering it almost impracticable to
breathe while making the excavation. The earth thrown out was quite
dry, and in much indurated masses or clods, though the spring rains
had hardly ceased. The material of the mound was mostly the dark
colored soil of the prairie, showing that the surface only had been taken
to construct it. At one place, there was a slight layer of gravel, as if
a small quantity of that material had been used when the work had
reached that point.
Under the middle of the mound we found the object of greatest
interest. An excavation had been made in the original ground, the bot-
tom of which was paved with rounded stones, imbedded in clay. Upon
the pavement was placed the body of a man, in a horizontal position,
the head toward the east, the legs and arms folded back. The skeleton
was in very good state of preservation, most of the bones being found,
including many of the smaller ones. The skull was nearly entire, but
had been crushed and distorted by the pressure of the superincumbent
earth.
About two feet above the skeleton, we found a few fragments of a hu-
man skull, but no traces of other bones. They had, doubtless, been
casually thrown upon the mound during the progress of its construction'
Very near the skull was found a gray flint arrow-head, and a bone,
apparently of a bird, which had been wrought into an implement of
some important use, no doubt, to those who made it.
Occasionally fragments of bones, and pieces of charcoal, were found
at various depths, but no indication of the burning of human or other
sacrifices. Roots of trees or shrubs had penetrated to the very bottom
of the mound. While the work was in progress we were visited by
numerous citizens of Madison, and by the Officers and Students of the
Wisconsin State University, may of whom manifested a deep interest in
the subject of American Antiquities.
In a letter addressed to Dr. I. A. Lapham, then state
geologist, dated at Madison, October 12, 1874, W. J. L.
Nicodemus informs him of the results of the exploration by
himself of two of the burial mounds. In the first mound a
few human bones were found. From the second he obtained
two skulls and several potsherds. These were found buried
on the natural surface of the ridge at a depth of eight feet
below the surface of the mound. Other mounds on the ridge
were explored by other persons but no exact information
concerning the results of their digging is available.
In about the year 1898, Mr. Carl Brandt removed a large
burial mound which was located on the ridge in his door-
yard, on the south side of his house, on Oregon street about
one block south of Middle street. At the base of this conical
88 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 3
mound he found the bones of two or three skeletons and a
number of flint instruments. The skulls and implements
were acquired by several Wisconsin University boys who
visited his place at that time. A grooved stone axe was re-
cently found by Mr. Brandt in a potato patch on the ridge
near Middle street, north of his house. Several flint arrow
points and potsherds were also obtained here.
Collections of flint chips and other rejectage of the Indian
arrowmaker made by the writer and Mr. Albert 0. Barton
from old wigwam sites on the crest of the Dividing ridge,
chiefly in the section between the Keyes and Pieh gravel
pits, appear to indicate that the kind of flint in most com-
mon use by the early Indians, probably because of the ac-
cessibility of the supply, was the attractive salmon colored
flint which occurs in the limestone quarries west of the city
of Madison. This material is of excellent quality and chips
as well as implements made of it are found quite commonly
on most of the old Indian camp and village sites which the
writer has examined on the shores of lakes Wingra, Monona
and Mendota.
Next in abundance of the flint rejectage found on the
ridge sites is a pinkish or light reddish flint. The source of
this material is not known. It is very probably an imported
flint brought to this region from quarries lying to the south
of Wisconsin, probably from the Flint Ridge region, in Ohio.
It bears a slight resemblance to samples of Flint Ridge ma-
terial obtained through the courtesy of Dr. W. G. Mills, of
Columbus. Other sites about the Madison lakes yield chips
and fragments and specimens made of this flint.
There were found on the ridge also chips and implements
made of a flne white flint which may have been obtained by
the aborigines either from boulders removed from the drift,
or introduced in the course of Indian barter with tribes lying
to the south of Wisconsin.
Chips of the grayish clouded or mottled so-called "Bad
Axe" flint and which is reported as procurable in the state,
also occur. Chips of this material the writer found very
abundant on the old village sites examined by him at Rich-
land City (Gotham) and at Sparta.
Other varieties of flint of which samples have been found
on the ridge sites are a light grayish or brownish flint of fair
Lake Wingra 89
quality and undoubtedly Wisconsin in origin, a bluish gray
flint, and a dark brownish flint.
Had it been possible to examine the entire crest of the
ridge before the destruction of the parts now levelled a large
amount of valuable evidence would very probably been ob-
tained from the old camp and workshop sites which present
evidence indicates must have extended over a considerable
part of its length.
The small number of flint arrowpoints found on the sites
between the two pits include nearly all of the common
forms. The leaf-shaped triangular, notched and barbed
types are all represented. These are made of the varieties of
flint mentioned, and a few others. One small blank or rude
point of whitish quartzite was found. Several perforators
found are of the common form without a broad base. A
small flake scraper has also been recovered.
Several potsherds are of small size and unornamented.
Mr. Marion Granefield has a small copper awl which he col-
lected from this place. The only object of possible white trade
origin is a fragment of the bowl of a clay trade pipe. It is
ornamented with several stars and is of the style in use sixty
or more years ago.
In operating the gravel pits burials have occasionally been
unearthed near the surface of the ridge. A skull obtained
from one of these graves on July 10, 1900, is preserved in
the State Historical museum. About four years ago Mr.
William Keyes unearthed a skeleton in the sand pit, north
of Middle street.
The destruction of the Dividing ridge was a crime which
should never have been perpetrated. It was one of Madison's
most charming scenic features*
3. Greenbush Mounds (Plate 4). Of a group of mounds
formerly located in that part of the Ninth Ward of the city
of Madison known as Greenbush scarcely a trace now re-
mains. These mounds, according to the accounts of the
few residents who remember them, are said to have been
located on the ridge on the present site of St. Mary's hos-
pital, near the intersection of Mill and Erin streets. On a lot
adjoining on the east the home of Mr. William Burrowbridge
there is a low embankment which may be the remains of a
90 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 3
linear mound. Mr. Albert O. Barton has collected a few
flint arrow points in a piece of cultivated land on the edge
of the ridge at the terminus of Mill street at this point. No
indications of a former camp or workshop site could be found
on this ground when recently examined.
The only description of this group of Indian earthworks
which is available to students of Wisconsin archaeology is
the rather fanciful one given by Dr. Stephen D. Peet, for-
merly editor of the American Antiquarian, in his work, Pre-
historic America (v. 2, p. 15). His plat of the group is re-
produced in Plate 3. This will enable the student to judge
for himself whether he agrees with its author in his identifi-
cations of the animals represented by the several effigies. A
careful checking of some of Dr. Peet's "surveys" by present
day archaeologists shows some of them to be but little better
than mere sketches. The platting of the animal figures is
often poorly done.
"A large group of mounds containing one effigy of the fox (No. 4) and
of another figure or effigy of doubtful significance (No. 3) may be seen
in that part of the City of Madison called Greenbush. The group con-
tains: man mound, 1; eagle, 2; a wild goose, 5; a kingbird, 6; and
two straight mounds. The attitudes of all the creatures are very
striking, especially the wild goose, chased apparently by the kingbird.
The attitude of the fox is also expressive. It is situated on the slope of
ground apparently crawling up the hill in a stealthy manner and as
seen on the surface of the ground is a striking effigy."
On page 63 he describes the same group:
"A group of effigies may be seen near Lake Wingra, overlooking the
marsh and lake. There is in the group a wild goose and a duck in close
proximity, both flying toward the water, and a long tapering mound
close by which may represent a fish. The habit of the birds is to feed
in the marshes.
The effigies studied in connection with the locality give this idea.
There are several other effigies in the group such as an eagle and a
swallow, and two land animals, all of them arranged on the side hill
parallel with the water, giving the idea that they were placed there as
screens for the hunters who were watching the geese and ducks which
frequented the lake."
In his Figure 12 he shows a single conical mound among
the effigies. Two of the effigies in his plat are very probably
intended to represent geese, one the eagle or hawk and an-
other is a mound of the familiar panther type.
^ tr
o a-
Lake Wingra 91
In the State Historical museum there is an eight ounce
cannonball which was found by Mr. George B. Merrick, of
Madison, in black soil obtained from an Indian mound lo-
cated near the old Catholic, cemetery, in 1905 or 1906.
4. Vilas Park Group (Plate 5). On the top of a hill, the
northern terminus of the Dividing ridge, at the northeast
corner of Lake Wingra, rising just above the Vilas Park Zoo
and giving a fme view of the lake and its shorelines, is a
rather compact group of Indian earthworks.
The preservation of the mounds now remaining was se-
cured through the purchase by the city of Madison, in the
years 1910 and 1913 of the hill-top and adjoining lower
land. As may be noted from the accompanying plate there
originally were in this group a total of eleven mounds.
Eight of these were conical (burial), one a linear and two
effigy mounds. One of the burial mounds was destroyed and
several of the other mounds mutilated in past years by the
erection of several dwelling houses, the cultivation of gar-
den patches and the cutting of a road across the land. Por-
tions of the wings of both of the bird effigies were thus re-
moved. The former pasturing of cattle on the hill-top has
also caused deformations of their wings and bodies. Of the
burial mounds now obliterated considerable portions could
still be seen when the writer first viewed these earthworks in
1908.
The conical mounds which now remain have diameters
respectively of 24, 27, 28, 30 and 33 feet. The largest is
about 3| feet high at its middle. The single linear is 72 feet
in length and 17 feet wide. The body of the larger of the
bird effigies is 70 and the other 58 feet in length. One bird
originally had a wingspread of over 200 and the other of
over 100 feet. Of the contents of the burial mounds de-
stroyed little information is available. Scattered human
bones were found in one of these.
On the afternoon of October 7, following a luncheon ten-
dered them at Lathrop hall, the members of the Society of
American Indians, then in Conference at Madison, were
taken by the University reception committee on an auto-
mobile drive over the University grounds and through the
city parks. At Henry Vilas park a stop was made to permit
92 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 3
of the unveiling of a descriptive metal tablet in honor of
the occasion on the group of Indian earthworks here de-
scribed. The tablet was placed on the top of the most south-
erly of the burial mounds. It is 12 inches by 18 inches in
size, is mounted on a concrete block and bears the following
legend :
Indian Mounds
One of the Several Groups of Prehistoric Burial, Linear and
Effigy Mounds Formerly Located on the Crest of the Monona-
Wingra Ridge. Several of these were surveyed by Increase A.
Lapham, in 1850.
Village Site was in the Park below.
Marked for the Wisconsin Archeological Society by W. W.
Warner, 1914.
The unveiling address was delivered by the writer. Mrs.
Sara E. Mallon, of Milwaukee, a handsome young woman of
Wisconsin Menomini Indian descent, unveiled the marker.
Rev. Mr. Henry Roe Cloud, an educated Winnebago Indian,
delivered the address of acceptance. Among the native Ameri-
cans present on this occasion were members of the Winne-
bago, Chippewa, Pottawatomi, Menomini, Dakota, Omaha,
Arapaho, Navajo, Cherokee, Oneida, Kickapoo, Fox and
Brothertown tribes. Prominent Indian leaders present were
Rev. Mr. Sherman Coolidge, Mr. William J. Kershaw, Mr.
Hiram J. Chase, Dr. Carlos Montezuma, Mrs. Marie L.
Baldwin, Mrs. Angel Decora Dietz, Mr. Chauncey Yellow
Robe, Mr. Dennison Wheelock and Mr. Oliver Lemere. '
5. Vilas Park Mound and Village Site. At the base of
the hill upon which is located the group of mounds just de-
scribed, among the animal cages of the Henry Vilas Park
zoo, is a solitary conical burial mound. This earthwork has
a basal diameter of 17 feet and is about 1 J feet high. Growing
upon one edge of this mound is an oak tree having a trunk
2 feet in diameter and at its other edge a large hickory. A
metal marker, the gift of Mr. James M. Pyott, of Chicago,
has been placed on this mound by the Wisconsin Archeologi-
cal Society.
^ O
■-(
o
c
Lake Wingra 93
When the present park lands were still in a wild state there
existed at the northern end on the elevated land now occu-
pied by the animal house and shrubbery a patch of Indian
corn hills. There are said to have been several hundred of
these. No vestige of them remains. In 1908, when the ground
about the cluster of old oak trees in the center of the park
was being prepared for the lawn, numerous flint chips and
fragments and occasional arrow points, tips of deer antlers,
animal bones, potsherds and scattered fireplace stones were
collected by the writer. Several celts, grooved stone axes,
and flint points had previously been collected here by local
boy collectors.
The writer is informed that from the early fifties to the
eighties small numbers of Winnebago Indians camped from
time to time on this elevated land which was then bounded
on several sides by a part of the Lake Wingra marsh, and
also upon the land at the base of the ridge slope beyond.
5a. Lewis Effigy (Figure 1). In an article entitled "A
New Departure in Effigy Mounds," published in Science
(No. 318, 1889), Prof. T. H. Lewis gives a description and-
figure of a rather curious mammal effigy which he found on
the shore of this lake:
"On the same occasion I also found another four-legged animal
(No. 2) not hitherto mentioned by any one. It is the north side of Lake
Wingra. . . The length of this effigy from the extremity of the
muzzle to the rump is 127 feet, its body is 3 feet in height, and the legs
bent as if in motion. Last August, when I made this survey, it was in a
fme state of preservation, the base outline being well defined. It is
Figure 1 — Lewis Effigy
located on a knoll about twenty feet above the lake, and less than one
hundred feet from the shore; and on a high ridge above and to the east
of it there are numerous round mounds."
But a small number of effigy mounds representing mam-
mals having this feature of divided limbs have been found.
94 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14,' No. 3
The great majority of the effigies are portrayed "with legs
in range of the eye, so that only two are visible."
Professor Lewis' field notes are not available hence the
former location of this effigy, which no longer exists, cannot
be determined with certainty. A location which appears to
correspond with this description is that upon which the
Vilas Park animal house is now located. A number of conical
mounds are in the group on the ridge above this elevation.
However, none of those who were famiUar with this knoll
previous to the parking of these lands remember the presence
of an effigy mound upon it.
6. South Warren Street Group (Plate 6). The plat of
this group of Indian earthw^orks, and from which the ac-
companying illustration was prepared, was made by the
writer on August 29, 1908. This and the surrounding prop-
erty had then been but recently platted. In the grading of
the streets portions of most of the mounds had been re-
moved. These mounds are to-day, seven years after the
making of the writer's survey, only a memory. All have been
destroyed.
The group consisted of five linear and one single (conical)
burial mounds, all but one being located within the bounds
of a single city block. This block, then clothed with wild
grasses and a few scattered shrubs, rose gradually from a
level area at Drake and South Warren streets to the wooded
prominence now included ia the West Washington street
public oval. Several fine oak and hickory trees grew near
the mounds in the middle of the group.
The original length of linear mound No. 1 could not be
accurately determined. It was probably, before its mutila-
tion, about 100 feet long. Sixty feet of it remained at the
time of the making of the survey. This portion had a uni-
form width of 12 feet. No. 2, the burial mound, had a basal
diameter of 14 feet. Linear No. 3 was 126 feet in length with
a uniform width of 15 feet. No. 4, another hnear, was 100
feet long and of the same width as No. 3, which its one ex-
tremity nearly touched. No. 5, located on the slope of the
hill, was 88 feet in length and 20 feet in width. This mound
was 3 feet high. All of the other mounds were about 2 feet
high. Of linear mound No. 6, located on the rear of a lot on
fi-T.
:0;
05 f^ {ft
WEST ^A'ASMINGTOI
V
Lake Wingra 95
the north side of West Washington street, only about 40
feet remained, the other portion having been destroyed in a
neighboring back yard into which it extended. The width
of the portion which remained was about 15 feet. All of
these mounds were constructed of surface soil obtained
no doubt from the surrounding levels and hillside.
Linear No. 5 was destroyed in 1913 by the erection of the
R. H. Denniston residence. The writer was present during
its destruction. No evidence of its use as a burial place or
as a wigwam site was found. A few feet of one extremity of
this mound still remain on the lot adjoining the Denniston
place. Mounds No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 were destroyed during the
spring of the present year in the course of the grading and
preparation of the lawns of the lots upon which they were
located. It is not unlikely that the owners of these lots
were ignorant of the interest of the curious elevations which
they thus destroyed. At least one of them might have been
spared. Because of their convenient location the mounds in
this group were visited and admired by hundreds of persons
during the years 1908-13. During the school year the writer
has himself frequently conducted classes of children from
the city schools and University Camp Fire Girls to view
these mounds. Their loss is regretted by many persons.
In South Warren street, about burial mound No. 2, when
the street was being prepared, the writer collected a large
number of flint chips. The indications are that an Indian
camp was at one time located at the present intersection of
Drake and South Warren streets. Between the extremities
of linear mounds No. 1 and 4 several shallow circular de-
pressions each about 5 feet in diameter indicated the prob-
able locations of former provision caches which in the course
of time had been filled in with soil.
Burial mound No. 2 had been excavated and scattered
human bones found at a depth of a few inches beneath its
base.
7. Bear Effigy and Curtis Mounds (Figure 2). At the
western extremity of the West Washington avenue public
oval and elevated but a few feet above the encircling drive,
is one of the finest examples of a bear effigy mound in the
entire Four Lakes region. This effigy is in perfect condition
96 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 3
with the exception that a small part of the lower portion of
the rear leg has been amputated by the carelessness or ig-
norance of the engineer who planned the pleasure drive
encircling the hill inclosed in the oval.
The length of the body of this remarkable emblematic
earthwork is 82 feet. The width of the body at its widest
part is 20 feet. The front is the shorter of its two limbs,
being 16 feet in length. The length of the now sUghtly in-
jured rear limb was 23 J feet. The length of the head of the
animal, from the tip of its nose to the tip of the hump,
which probably represents its ears, is 24 feet.
On the afternoon of July 29, 1910, during the memorable
two days state field assembly held at Madison by the Wis-
consin Archeological Society, a metal marker was erected
on this mound. The following account of its unveiling ap-
peared in the Wisconsin Archeologist (v. 9, no. 3) :
At the Bear Mound
"After a short halt at Observatory hill the carriages left the Uni-
versity grounds and proceeded southward across the city to Henry
Figure 2 — Bear Effigy
Vilas Park, a picturesque public park occupying a portion of the shore
of Lake Wingra, the smallest but not the least attractive of the Madison
lakes.
"On a small public oval at the head of West Washington avenue,
on the outskirts of this park, is located the effigy of a bear (See Fig. 1).
This animal-shaped earthwork is proclaimed by local archeologists to
be one of the finest examples of its type about these fakes. It is sit-
Lake Wingra
97
uated on the point of the western end of the oval where it is easily seen
from the drive which approaches and passes to either side of it, and has
as a background a number of fine native oak trees. Here the carriages
were halted and the ceremony of unveiling a descriptive bronze tablet
provided by one of the Society's public spirited Madison members was
begun, those in attendance grouping themselves beneath the great
trees in the rear of the mound. The presentation address as delivered
by Prof. H. B. Lathrop of the University of Wisconsin was eloquent
and served to impress all with the great interest of the occasion. At its
conclusion Miss Pauline Buell, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles E.
Buell, prominent citizens of Madison, very gracefully removed the
silk flag exposing the tablet. The inscription reads:
Bear
(Wah-zhe-dah)
Common Type of Ancient Indian
EfTigy Mound
Length 82 feet
Marked by the Wisconsin Archeological Society
July 29, 1910
Professor Lathrop's Address
"The mound of earth at our feet is the work of hands long quiet,
a memorial the meaning of which, by the time our race came to this
region, had been forgotten by the very aborigines themselves whose
ancestors, it is believed, here built it. On some summer's day, how
many ages ago we know not, there labored here a band of dark-skinned
men and women, bearing with them in sacks and baskets the earth,
toilsomely scooped up with blade-bones, shells, and bits of wood, of
which this figure is composed. It is not difficult to imagine the scene
about them as it must have appeared on that day. The soft homelike
contours of the hills enclosing the lake below us cannot have greatly
changed. Some then, as now, were darkly hooded with a close growth
of trees, but on most of them the oaks stood wide apart in the midst of
an undergrowth of brambles and other rough bushes, or cast their
shadows in park-like groves on grassy slopes. The brush was thick, no
doubt, and sheltered bears and deer. The flocks of water birds on the
lakes in spring and autumn were vast and noisy. There were no neatly
painted houses ranged in order along straight white streets; and hollow
trails led from one group to another of skin tepees near the lake shores,
with great solitudes between them.
"In the level meadows below us, and a few hundred yards to the
southeast, on what was then the edge of the rushy lake, was one group
of such tents, the village of the builders of this mound. The oaks still
standing in the park sheltered the village in its later days. The ground
beneath is full of the signs of the life of the inhabitants: flint implements
98 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 3
and flakes and potsherds, the homely and pitiful wealth of the villagers.
Between the two oaks at the end of the little grove on the west may yet
be found the remnants of ancient hearthstones, cracked by fire. The
lake near by provided the inhabitants with the fish and turtles which
formed so large a part of their food and were so important in their
agriculture. Their corn field and their burial ground have not been
discovered, but must have been not distant. These people must have
led a tolerably settled life; the region about them was rich in all the
elements of savage prosperity, and vigorous enemies pressed at no great
distance upon their borders. Why should they roam far from so fair
a home? On this earth, then, grew the holy sentiments possible only
where mankind have settled habitations. Here were homes and love,
affection for the lake, the trees, the hills, for the graves of ancestors,
devotion to the commonweal — sacred feelings, however crudely or
dimly manifested, however mingled with savage folly and savage
cruelty.
"Dr. Samuel Johnson says, in words which as Matthew Arnold
declares, should be written in letters of gold over every schoolhouse
door, 'Whatever causes the past, the distant, or the future to predomi-
nate in our minds over the present, advances us in the dignity of think-
ing beings.' Such words will not sound strange to the members of an
archeological society. Its very existence is a call to its members to
escape at times from the confusion and scattering of the spirit which
comes from the welter of daily business, to turn back to the simple ele-
ments of human nature in this day of many calling voices, and to become
conscious for a moment of the long stream of life, unhasting, unresting, i n
which our owil passes on as a drop on its way to the ocean. But it is
not the mere outer life of the past which has an interest for us. What is
the meaning of this heap of earth? With what thoughts was it built?
Were the minds of those who made it alien to ours, or is the mound a
little signal out of the past to let us know that the thoughts of the past
are still in us? To these questions no such easy and clear answers can
be given as to those concerned with the mere externals of by-gone days,
and yet they may be answered, if not with completeness, yet with
certainty and with sufficiency.
"Those who people the village and built the mound were Indians
of the Winnebago tribe, members of the great Siouan family; and in the
stupendous western migration of these peoples from Virginia a band
of the Winnebagos stopped here on their way near their brethren, found
the land good, unpeopled or dispeopled as it was, and here made their
home. Those who settled this village were members of the Bear Clan;
they had an ideal unity of descent from the bear, had the bear spirit
in them, and were all conceived of as kindred. In course of time,
after their life had become rooted in this spot, some of them formed
this image of the protecting bear spirit. The bear was their ancestor,
their guardian, at once the bond of their community and the object
of their religious devotion. Here this image, endowed with a mystic
life, the home of the spirits of many ancestors, not a dead thing or a
mere inanimate figure, watched over their village, removed from
Winnebago Girl
Plate 7
Lake Wingra 99
desecrating companionship and the disturbances of the village life,
but near enough to exercise a watchful guardianship over it. To the
west lay many kindred villages of the Bear Clan, often marked like
this one by effigies. Rude as the mounds are, the artists who traced
them were not without imagination and delight in the pictures they
drew with so broad a stroke. The bear effigy — the black bear no
doubt — is nearly always long-bodied and heavy-footed, but he is no
mere conventional figure. Sometimes his head is lifted and he snufTs
the air, sometimes it is thrust forward and at gaze. More often, as
here, the great beast is stolidly plodding his way through the under-
brush. Each effigy testifies to the fact that the artist was drawing
sincerely and with delight what he had seen and knew intimately.
This mound is not in time so ancient as the Pyramids, but it is in
spirit more primitive and more noble. It is more noble, since it is not
the wt)rk of drudging slaves, set to glorify the vanity and selfishness
of a despot, but of a community symbolizing its bond of communal
life and its religious devotion. It is more primitive, for it comes from
that childhood of the race when men believed that human souls and
magical intelligence dwelt in the beasts. It is more mysterious than
the Pyramids: we know not the builders' names, or where their dust
has been laid, though of their purpose we have some inkling.
Is this symbol of the sacred past and of the community life altogether
strange to us? May we not find a chord in our hearts to respond to
the sentiment which raised it?
"The tablet we dedicate is the gift to the Society of a generous
donor who desires his name to be kept private, and is accepted from
the Society by the city of Madison as a pledge that this memorial of
a far and dim antiquity will be preserved intact for the future. The
flag covering the tablet, which Miss Pauline Buell is now to strip off, is
a symbol of a bond of union higher, larger, and more ideal than that of
the Bear Clan, but no closer or more holy than that to its members.
Under that flag should live a union of spirit higher than a merely
political one. It should be hospitable to the sacred associations of all
the many peoples in our composite national life. We cannot afford to
lose a benediction from our soil; our life will be the richer for realizing
that this was consecrated ground ages before a white foot was set upon
it."
Many visitors to the city now make pilgrimages to the
bear mound for the purpose of inspecting it. Passing auto-
mobihsts are attracted by the tablet and stop to view its
interesting outlines.
In the year 1905, Leslie Rowley, a Madison boy, in dig-
ging in the center of the bear efTigy found at a foot or more
beneath the surface a sword bearing on one side of its blade
the engraved inscription, "Pro Deo et Patria" (For God
and Country) and on the opposite side the words "Soli Deo
100 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol! 14, No. 3
Gloria" (To God Alone, the Glory). This sword has a wooden
leather and brass-wire wrapped hilt with a plain iron guard.
The length of the tapering, channelled blade is 26| inches.
A small piece of the tip of its blade is missing. The occur-
rence of this sword in the mound is a mystery. Undoubtedly
it is a relic of the period of the French fur trade in Wisconsin.
It has been placed in the care of the State Historical Museum.
Mr. George Curtis, Jr. and Prof. H. J. Thorkelson are
deserving of thanks for the manner in which for several
years they cared for this fine mound.
On the south side of West Washington avenue on the
residence property of Mr. George Curtis, Jr., directly across
the road from the bear mound, are two linear mounds. Of
one of these only about 36 feet remains. The remainder was
destroyed by the erection in 1906 of the Curtis house. This
fragment is 15 feet wide and IJ feet high. In the course of
the destruction of the part of this mound now displaced by
the house an Indian burial, probably of an intrusive char-
acter, was disturbed. Prof. Edward Kremers gathered the
bones and presented them to the State Historical Society.
In the rear of and at a distance of about 45 feet from the
house is a second linear mound which Mr. Curtis has always
taken particular pains to preserve. It lies on the slope of a
hill at the top of which is the house. This mound measures
84 feet in length and has a uniform width of 18 feet. It is
about IJ feet high.
8. Monroe Street Group (Figure 3). In the year 1850
Dr. Increase A. Lapham made a survey of a group of mounds
which he found on the north side of the Monroe road, just
west of the city limits of Madison. In recent years the city
has grown to include this district which is now known as
Wingra Park and the former country road has become Mon-
roe street. Lapham's plat, which appears in The Antiquities
of Wisconsin (Plate XXXII, No. 2), shows a total of 15
mounds strung along in an irregular east and west line. He
refers to it in connection with the Washburn group, on
page 40. A copy of this plat is shown in the accompanying
figure. Eleven of the mounds w^ere conical burial mounds,
one a stright linear, one a bird effigy, and two effigies of the
common panther type. This figure and our present knowl-
Lake Wingra
101
ledge of this locality indicate that this group extended over
the property from the red brick J. H. Terry residence at the
head of Monroe street just beyond Leonard street, east to
the Menges pharmacy at the intersection of Harrison street,
•V
1^
Figure 3 — Monroe Street Group
if not beyond. When the writer took up his residence in
Wingra Park, in 1908, a fragment of a mound, presumably
the head of the effigy which Lapham has shown as inter-
sected by the road, was still plainly to be seen beside the
sidewalk on the south side of Monroe street, and extending
102
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST
Vol. 14, No. 3
for a few feet into Harrison. It was constructed of black
surface soil and was about eighteen inches high at its highest
part. This remnant was removed when excavations were
made for the Menges and Jordan stores in 1913 and 1914.
Some irregular elevations on the J. H. Terry lawn are prob-
ably the remains of one or several of the conical mounds.
Mr. Henry West, an old resident of Wingra Park, states
that he assisted in the grading of the property along Monroe
street, about fifteen years ago, when this group was de-
stroyed. He does not remember that any human bones were
disinterred from the burial mounds during the grading. It
is certain, however, that burials must then have been dis-
turbed. So far as known no bones have since been found here
in excavating for buildings. Neither have any traces of a
former camp site been observed.
9. Jefferson Street Group (Plate 8). A survey of this
group of mounds was made for the Wisconsin Archeological
Society, in 1907, by Dr. Arlow B. Stout, at that time a stu-
dent in the University of Wisconsin. His plat is reproduced
in Plate 8. It shows a line of burial mounds extending
across the then vacant blocks on the south side of Jefferson
street from near Van Buren street west to Edgewood avenue.
All of these mounds were within a few feet (15 to 20) of the
lot line of Jefferson street. Dr. Stout found the earthworks
in this group to be of the following dimensions:
No. 1. Diameter 40 feet, height 3 feet.
No. 2.
'* 30 "
li '
No. 3.
' 35 "
li '
No. 4.
' 30 "
n '
No. 5.
45 "
4 *
No. 6.
36 "
2i '
No. 7.
' 45 "
4J '
He explains that the mounds were "all considerably flat-
tened by cultivation." In 1910 and 1911 all of these mounds
were destroyed by the erection of dwellings. The mound
located on the Glazier property, at the southeast corner of
the intersection of Jefferson and Lincoln streets, (No. 5) was
excavated by the writer with the assistance of a number of
young men, residents of Wingra Park, on April 15, 1911. A
'uuuL
£OG£tYOOO
EDG£yi/00O
AVE,
Lt fs/CO LN
<ST.
Jefferson Street Group
Plate 8
Lake Wingra 103
small portion of its western edge had been previously re-
moved in grading Lincoln street. The excavating was be-
gun at the eastern edge and continued to within a few feet
of the street line and to a depth of nearly three feet below
the surface of the soil upon which the mound was erected.
This task occupied the entire day. It was barren of results,
no traces of a burial or implements being unearthed. The
mound was constructed of clay and top soil. In none of
the other mounds, which were afterwards destroyed in the
erection of houses, according to the information obtained
from the owners and contractors, were any traces of burials
found.
These mounds were located on land elevated about thirty
feet above the shore of Lake Wingra and Henry Vilas park
two blocks to the south. In the cultivation of portions of
the lots upon which these mounds were located and the ad-
joining lots no traces of early Indian camp or workshop
sites have been found.
In the Antiquities of Wisconsin (Plate XXXII, No. 2)
Dr. Lapham presents a plat of a group of mounds surveyed
by him in 1850, which is intended to represent this group
and the mounds on the adjoining Edgewood grounds. It
shows a line of sixteen conical and four linear mounds and
an effigy, probably intended to represent a bird. It was
probably made under considerable difficulties, (the land at
that time being in a wild state) and does not agree with Dr.
Stout's recent careful survey. Lapham shows a short linear
mound at the eastern end of the line of tumuli. This earth-
work was probably destroyed in the grading of Jefferson
street.
9a. Lincoln Street Mound. A small conical mound
was formerly located on the edge of a lot owned by Mr.
John Kenney, at the intersection of Lincoln and Vilas
streets, and directly across the street from Vilas park. It was
situated about 180 feet west of the Kenney residence. About
one-half of this mound, which was about 18 feet in diameter
and 2 J feet high and extended into Lincoln street, had been
destroyed when its present owner acqufred the property.
He caused the removal of the remaining half in order to
obtain the black soil of which it was built. No human bones
or other material were found during its removal.
104 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 3
10. Edge wood Group (Plate 9 and Figure 4). One of the
most attractive spots on the north shore of Lake Wingra is
the large tract of land adjoining the western limits of Wingra
Park and known as Edgewood or Edgewood Villa. At the
eastern end of the property, facing Edgewood avenue, is
located Sacred Heart Academy, a school for girls maintained
by the order of Dominican Sisters. This fme property, fifty-
three acres in extent, formerly belonged to Gadwallader G.
Washburn, governor of the state from 1872 to 1874. Its
broad acres were presented by him to the Sisters, in 1881.
Edgewood has a lake frontage on Lake Wingra of about
2,300 feet. A narrow strip of marsh from 50 to 100 or more
feet in width, extends along its entire front and furnishes
a refuge for marsh wrens, red-winged blackbirds and other
members of the feathered tribe. In some years a muskrat
house or two is also to be found among the cattails. The
Figure 4 — Edgewood Bird Effigy
lake bank is low and the narrow strip of shoreland between
it and the fence which bounds the Pleasure drive from
twenty to sixty feet in width. Several groups of old willow
trees and a few scattered trees of other species grow on this
shore land. At one point, about midway between the eastern
and western limits, a cluster of willows surround a spring
and small pond now used as a watering place for the cattle
of the Edgewood farm. This spring and pond are said to
have been used by*the governor, in his day, as a trout pond.
The Pleasure drive, fifty feet in width, is elevated from
four to fifteen feet above the shore land. The portion of the
Edgewood property lying north of the drive is four city
Edgewood Group
Plate 9
Lake Wingra • 105
blocks wide, its western limits fronting on Monroe street.
The land fronting on the drive with the exception of a small
piece adjoining Edgewood avenue, which is under cultiva-
tion as a garden, is pasture land having upon it a grove of
scattered oak trees. In the rear of this grove the land is
under cultivation for farm crops.
The most easterly mounds of the Washburn group were
separated by only a few hundred feet from the nearest
mound, now obliterated, of the Jefferson street group just
described. Lapham in the plat previously mentioned shows
both as a part of the same group. The plat of the Washburn
group reproduced in Plate 9 was prepared by Dr. Stout
from the notes of a survey made by him on July 9, 1906.
In the description accompanying his plat he says:
"The mounds of this group are scattered over the slopes
of the ridge bordering Lake Wingra at this point. They are
not on the crest. Nos. 5 and 6 are beyond the highest line
of the ridge, on nearly level land. Others are on the gentle
slope bordering the lake."
There were fifteen mounds in this group at the time of
Dr. Stout's survey. Of these the conical burial mounds,
Nos. 1 to 3, are nearest to the Edgewood Academy building
and Edgewood avenue. These mounds were each about 27
feet in diameter and about 2 feet high. No. 4, a tapering
linear mound, lies on the west side of a small artificial
draw, stone bridged at the drive, to permit the cattle to
pass beneath it to pasture below. Its length is given by
Stout as 204 feet. Its width at its larger extremity is about
15 feet. At this point it is from IJ to 2 feet high. A small
portion of this extremity has been cut off in grading the
drive. The portion beyond the fence, in the pasture, is also
now badly worn by the tracking over it of the Academy herd.
The course of this mound is given as 60 degrees north of
west. The other tapering linear earthwork (No. 8) is about
240 feet long and 15 feet wide at its eastern end. Its course
is about 40 degrees north of east. It is of about the same
elevation as the other.
A series of conical mounds, Nos. 9 to 14, are located on
the edge of the Pleasure drive. Nos. 10 and 11 are just be
yond the fence, in the pasture. The dimensions of these
mounds are:
106 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 3
No. 9. Diameter 20 feet, height 2 feet.
No. 10. Diameter 22 feet, height 2i feet.
No. 11. Diameter 25 feet, height 2| feet.
No. 12. Low and flattened.
No. 13. Diameter 24 feet, height 2i feet.
No. 14. Diameter 27 feet, height 2 feet.
Another conical mound. No. 15, was mutilated, presum-
ably in grading the road. Its former dimensions could not
be determined with certainty.
When the writer and Dr. Stout visited the Edgewood
group, in the autumn of 1908, the mounds along the drive
were about to be levelled by a party of workmen engaged in
planting shrubbery for the Park and Pleasure Drive asso-
ciation. By a timely appeal to one of the officers of the asso-
ciation this was prevented. These mounds are now marked
with a permanent metal marker, the gift of Mr. James M.
Pyott, of Chicago, a member of the Wisconsin Archeo-
logical Society.
There are three effigy mounds in the Washburn group.
Two are bear effigies and one the effigy of a bird. One of the
bear effigies was destroyed in 1908 in preparing for cultiva-
tion the land upon which it was located. Through the kind
assistance of Rev. Dr. Leopold E. Drexel, who informed the
Sisters of its educational value, the bird effigy was preserved
by being fenced off in the corner of the field in which it is
located. This bird effigy is particularly interesting among
many of this type in having one nearly straight and one
drooping wing (see Figure 4). Irregular .heaps of earth of
slight elevation in the yard of the Chase residence, fronting
on Woodrow avenue, at the western limits of Edgewood,
mark the location of former mounds. These are indicated on
the plate by crosses and a dotted outline. From one of these,
a short linear mound, human bones, pottery and flint im-
plements are reported to have been exhumed.
In the garden lying between the academy building and
the lake shore a few scattered indications of a stone age
camp site have been found. These consist of a few hearth-
stones, flint chips and several arrow points. Doubtless simi-
lar evidences of early aboriginal occupation are hidden
beneath the sod of the adjoining woodland.
' ' • I 1 1 1 ., , I «\
Wingra Group
Plate 10
Lake Wingra 107
The mounds of the Edgewood group are referred to by
Rev. Stephen D. Peet in his work, Prehistoric America (v.
2, p. 73, figs. 71, 72). His figures are incorrect and his
brief description is of little value to the student.
11. Wingra Group (Plates 10 and 11). The interesting
group of mounds is located in a woodland on the north
side of Monroe street and between the present city lim-
its and Chapman street, on property formerly known
as the Marston farm but now subdivided for residence
purposes and called Wingra. The plate is from a survey
made by Dr. A. B. Stout in 1908. The woodland through
which these mounds are scattered is slightly elevated at its
eastern edge above Monroe street. It rises gradually from
this point to its western boundary at the track of the Illinois
Central R. R. Near the western end of the property there is
a gully with rock exposures and which was formerly in use as
a stone quarry. There were at the time of Dr. Stout's
survey sixteen mounds in this group two of which are conical
burial mounds, five were straight and four tapering linear
earthworks and the remaining five effigy mounds. Of the
effigies one probably represents a bear, one a panther, one a
goose, one a bird and one a nondescript mammal effigy.
The dimensions of some of the mounds are:
Burial Mound No. 5. Diameter 25 feet, 2 feet high.
Burial Mound No. 7. Diameters 36 x 30 feet, 1 J feet high.
Linear Mound No. 1. Length 75 feet, extreme width 16
feet, 2 feet high.
Linear Mound No. 2. Length 84 feet, extreme width 16
feet, 1 foot high.
Linear Mound No. 3. Length 84 feet, extreme width 15
feet, 1 foot high.
Linear Mound No. 4. Length 114 feet, extreme width 15
feet, 2 feet high.
Linear Mound No. 10. Length 80 feet, extreme width 16
feet, 2 feet high.
Tapering Mound No. 9. Length 265 feet, width near
middle 15 feet.
Tapering Mound No. 15. Length 291 feet, width near
middle 15 feet.
108 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 3
Tapering Mound No. 16. Length 281 feet, width near
middle 15 feet.
No. 14, which extended into a cultivated field was in this
way partly obliterated.
The dimensions of the effigies may be seen on the detail
plate.
This group of mounds is known to but few persons. Many
of the earthworks are hidden in the thick underbrush gen-
erally to be found in these woods. Some of the mounds have
been injured in various ways.
In the cultivated fields fronting on the marsh and lake
scattered indications of a former Indian camp site are still
to be seen. Arrow points and other of the smaller flint
implements have been gathered here by the writer and by
local collectors of Indian materials.
As this property has been subdivided and is already being
occupied by residences it is probable that in a few years
most, if not all, of these interesting mounds will have been
destroyed.
12. Cemetery Woods Group (Plates 12 and 13). A
series of linear and effigy mounds formerly extended across
a portion of Forest Hill cemetery and the adjoining woodland
fronting on the right-of-way of the Illinois Central R. R.
When Dr. Stout made his survey of this line of earthworks,
on July 4, 1905, all of these mounds were still undisturbed.
Since then the improvement of this part of the cemetery
property has caused the destruction of the three linear
earthworks at the northern end of the series. Traces of one
of these remain near the present woodland fence.
This is to be greatly regretted and the cemetery authorities
are deserving of great criticism for not saving to posterity
at least one of the works so favorably situated for preserva-
tion. As the cemetery is under city control no real excuse for
their obliteration can be offered. One linear mound and
two panther effigies are still preserved in the woods. All are
fine examples of their particular classes of mound types.
The neck of a goose effigy was destroyed in the year 1886
in the grading of the Illinois Central right-of-way into
which it extended. The detail drawings of the three effigies
shown in Plate 13 are reproduced from surveys made by
the writer in 1913.
Lake Wingra
109
The smaller of the two panther effigies (No. 1) measures
121 feet from the head to the tip of the tail. Its body is 15
feet in width at its middle. The other (No. 2) is 163 feet
long. Its body is 18J feet wide at its middle. Both mounds
are from 2 to 2 J feet high. The goose effigy has a wingspread
of 126 feet. Its body is 58 feet long with an extreme Width
of 21 § feet. It is from IJ to 2 feet high. The two panther
effigies are 115 feet apart. Forty-two feet beyond No. 2 is a
linear mound which is 115 feet in length and has a nearly
uniform width of about 17 feet. It is 2J feet high. This
mound lies within about 150 feet of the edge of a large ravine
which extends from the railroad right-of-way to the boundary
line of Forest Hill cemetery in the rear.
It is to be expected that the narrow strip of woodland in
which these ancient earthworks are located must finally be
acquired by the cemetery. In case this occurs a determined
effort should be made to secure the permanent preservation
of one or both of these fine panther effigies.
13. Nakoma Mounds (Figure 5). Two linear mounds
Figure 5 — Nakoma Mounds
are situated on property owned by Mr. J. F. Baker, on the
no WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 3
west side of the Verona road in the new suburban plat of
Nakoma, on the west shore of Lake Wingra. They are
located between the residence of Mr. Roy Marks and the
westward turn of the Verona road.
A thicket of young trees and brush hides them from view
from the road. The largest of the two mounds, that nearest
the road, is 80 feet in length and has a uniform width of 12
feet. The other which lies nearly opposite it is 100 feet long
and 15 feet wide. The mounds are each about 2| feet high.
A remnant of an old farm road runs between them.
With the improvement of this district the destruction of
these mounds is to be expected. A request for their preser-
vation has been made of the owner of the land by the Wis-
consin Archeological Society.
A small number of flint arrowpoints have been collected
from cultivated grounds on the old Gorham place, on the
east side of the Verona road and between it and the Lake
Wingra marshes. All of these are of common forms. A
scraper of the re-chipped arrowpoint type has also been
found here.
14. Lake Forest Group No. 1 (Plate 14). Two mound
groups are situated in the fine stretch of rather dense native
woods on tlie south shore of the lake. This property and the
adjoining extensive marsh and swamp lands, to which the
name of Lake Forest has recently been given by its owners,
has been subdivided and will soon be placed on the real
estate market as a desirable location for suburban homes.
The woodland has long been known as the "big" woods or the
"Vilas" woods, the latter after its former owner. The tract
of marsh and swamp land which extends along the entire
lake front of the woodland is in places hundreds of feet in
width. Flowing into the lake from the south is a creek which
divides the woodland into two nearly equal parts.
The group of Indian earthworks here described is located
in the western half of the woodland. The land rises gradually
from the edge of the marsh to the higher lands in the rear of
the woods. On the top of this higher land, at elevations of
from forty-five to sixty feet above the waters of the lake, is
situated a rather compact group of twelve mounds. Of these
four are conical, six linear and two effigy mounds. These
Cemetery Woods Group
Plate 12
Lake Wingra
11
earthworks are not in as perfect a condition as those located
in the eastern half of the woods. This is due to the destruc-
tive digging done in some of them years ago by local relic
hunting farm hands and by other careless explorers. They
are at present difficult of access because of the growth of
blackberry vines and other brush growing upon the slope of
the hill. The conical mounds are each about 30 feet in
diameter and of moderate elevation. The six linears measure
respectively 85, 100, 110, 150 and 220 feet in length and are
of varying widths. The two effigies represent a bird and the
panther. The former has a wingspread of 200 feet, the
latter is 150 feet long.
15. Lake Forest Group No. 2 (Plate 15 and Figure 6).
The second group is located in the eastern half of the woods.
It consists of four scattered mounds. The first of these, a
Figure 6 — Turtle Effigy in Lake Forest Group No. 2
panther effigy, is located on a knoll in the highest part of the
forest and which is elevated about 75 feet above the waters
of the lake. This mound is 127 feet in length. Six oak
trees having diameters of 9 to 12 inches grow on different
parts of it. At a distance of about 240 feet southwest of it.
112 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 3
on lower ground, is a turtle effigy measuring 160 feet in
length. Its head is directed down the slope. About 400
feet northwest of the turtle effigy is a linear mound. This is
about 240 feet long and has a uniform width of 20 feet.
Ninety-three feet west of it, on the slope of the hillside, is a
second effigy of the panther type which is 90 feet long. This
mound lies nearly at the base of the wooded slope, within
about 200 feet of the creek previously mentioned. All of
these mounds are from 1§ to 2 feet high at their highest parts,
and are in a good state of preservation. They have as yet
escaped the destructive attention of the misguided relic
hunter. Their presence is known to but a very few of the
many persons who frequent these woods. The stand of
trees in most parts of this woodland is rather dense and the
brush and tangles of blackberry vines are a detriment to free
progress through the forest glades.
16. Vilas Group (Plate 16). These earthworks are in a
pasture largely overgrown with clumps of hazel brush and
bergamot and with here and there a solitary young oak tree.
The group consists of one conical and three linear mounds.
The conical mound has a basal diameter of 28 feet. It has
been disembowelled by relic hunters. Only the rim now
remains. It appears to have been originally not over 2 feet
high. No information concerning its former contents is
available.
The three linear mounds all taper to a point at one ex-
tremity, the other being rounded, an unusual feature in earth-
works of this class. Their dimensions are:
No. 1 Length 178 feet, width 13 feet, height 2 feet
No. 2 " 260 " *' 12i" " 2 "
No. 3 " 254 " " 13 " " 2 "
These mounds are much worn in places by the trampling
hoofs of horses and cattle. The elevation upon which they
are situated arises but a few feet above the surrounding
pasture.
The presence of numerous stumps indicates that this land
was formerly overgrown with a forest of oak trees. De-
pressions show where stumps have been pulled in clearing
the land.
I— n
00 g
Lake Wingra
113
The ruined conical mound at the head of the group is
situated about 360 feet southeast of the creek previously
mentioned as flowing through the Lake Forest woods.
The plat of this group was made from measurements taken
on August 1, 1912. It has been named in memory of the
late U. S. Senator William F. Vilas.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
A total of 148 mounds are found to occur in the fifteen
groups of Indian earthworks located on the shores of Lake
Wingra. Of this original number 69 now remain. The
remainder have been destroyed. Twenty-six of these have
been obliterated since 1908.
The following tabulation gives the number of mounds in
each of the groups and the number of each class of earth-
works in each.
Groups
Conical
Linear
Effigy
Totals
1. Oregon Street
7
7
1
8
1
1
13
2
1
8
2. Dividing Ridge
5
6
2
25
3. Greenbush
9
4. Vilas Park
11
5. Vilas Park Mound
1
6. Lewis Effigy
1
7. South Warren Street
1
5
2
1
1
6
8. Curtis
1
3
3
9. Monroe Street
11
7
1
9
2
15
10. Jefferson Street
8
11. Lincoln Street Mound
1
12. Edgewood
3
9
4
2
6
1
3
3
5
3
15
13. Wingra
16
14. Cemetery Woods
7
15. Nakoma
2
16. Lake Forest, No. 1
4
i
9
3
12
17. Lake Forest, No. 2
18. Vilas . .
4
4
Total
60
54
34
148
The group formerly situated on the Dividing ridge con-
tained the largest number of mounds, 25. The second largest
group, that referred to as the Wingra group, consisted of 16
mounds. The Edgewood and Monroe street groups each
114 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 3
consisted of 15 earthworks. Of the total number of mounds
about the lake 60 were conical (burial) mounds, 54 linear in
form and 34 effigies.
Of the burial mounds about Lake Wingra the largest was
located on the Dividing ridge. This Lapham describes as
having basal measurements of 50 by 70 feet and being 10
feet high. A round mound in the Jefferson street group
Stout found to be 45 feet in diameter at its base and 4§ feet
high. The largest existing burial mound, in the Wingra
group, has a base measurement of 30x36 feet and is about
2 feet high at its center. The next largest, in the Vilas Park
group, is 33 feet in diameter and about 3i feet in height.
The smallest burial mound, located in Vilas park, is only 17
feet in diameter and 1 J feet high at its highest part.
Of the embankment-shaped earthworks 46 belonged to
the class known as straight linears, these having a uniform
width throughout their length. Three of these, in the Vilas
group, have one pointed and one rounded extremity. The
largest straight linear, in Lake Forest group. No. 1, is 220
feet long. The tapering linears were seven in number. The
largest tapering linear, in the Wingra group. Stout found to
measure 291 feet in length. One in the Edgewood group is
240 feet long.
A curious straight-sided linear, found by Lapham in the
Dividing ridge group, terminated at one extremity in a
round mound. This type has been found in groups in other
locations in southern Wisconsin. W. A. Titus found it in a
group in Fond du Lac county.
Of the total number of 34 effigies 14 represent birds. Of
these 9 probably represent the eagle (or thunderbird) and
the hawk. One other bird effig>% found by Peet in the Green-
bush group, has a divided or forked tail. A similar bird
effigy occurs in a group located at the southeast side of Lake
Monona. Four bird effigies are evidently intended to rep-
resent the goose. One of these is in the Wingra group, an-
other in the Cemetery group, and two were in the Green-
bush group. In the region of the Madison lakes goose effigies
have been found in mound groups at Merrill Springs, on
the shore of Lake Mendota, and in the McConnell group, on
the west shore of Lake Waubesa.
Among the mammal effigies formerly existing on the
shores of Lake Wingra, the panther (or water spirit) type is
r^-
I^ o
Lake Wingra 115
represented by 11 examples and the bear by 4. There are
several mammal effigies whose identity is in doubt. There
are 2 turtle effigies. The panther, bear and turtle are all
numerous and widely distributed types of effigy mounds.
The number of mounds of all classes about Lake Wingra
does not fall very short of the number (184) which Dr. W.
G. McLachlan found in 42 groups of mounds on the Lake
Waubesa shore, in this county. (See Mounds of the Lake
Waubesa Region.) Of conical mounds there are nearly three
times as many on the shores of Lake Wingra as there are at
Lake Waubesa, where there are only 21 of these. Of linear
mounds there are twice as many about Waubesa (120) as
about Lake Wingra (54). The number of effigies about Lake
Wingra (34) is greater than about Lake Waubesa, where
there are but 25 of these. These facts are interesting, espe-
cially when the far greater area of the Lake Waubesa shore
lines is taken into consideration.
As is the case in other parts of the state the mound groups
about Lake Wingra surround or occur in the vicinity of
stone age camp and village sites. Evidences of the former
location of such sites have been found to occur on the crest
of the Dividing ridge, in Vilas Park, on the Edgewood prop-
erty and along the Monroe and Verona roads at the western
end of the lake. Traces of others will undoubtedly be found
when other locations now covered with woodlands are im-
proved or brought under cultivation. Such evidences may
be expected to occur in the vicinity of the several gr'oups in
the Lake Forest woodlands.
As a result of their researches Wisconsin archaeologists
have arrived at the conclusion that the effigies which are
found in mound groups in the vicinity of stone age village
sites in this state represent the totems or clan emblems of
their former Indian inhabitants. This belief has the support
of Indian tradition and of general information recently ob-
tained from their descendants by the investigator, Dr. Paul
Radin, and others.
It may be truthfully stated that no other lake of its size in
Wisconsin originally had upon its shores a larger number
of Indian earthworks than had Lake Wingra. It is not to
be supposed that this large number of mounds were erected
in any single century. They undoubtedly represent the toil
116 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 3
of several centuries at least and of the patient labor of many
generations of redmen as well as probably of villages of
tribesmen which succeeded one another in the occupation
of these sites. The presence of several types of effigies in
some of the mound groups may be explained in several
ways. They may represent the totems of the Indian clans
represented at the time of their construction in the adjoin-
ing village, or those of the clans which successively occupied
this site at different periods. The same may be true of the
burial mounds which contain the bones of the prominent
dead of these villages. The data at hand shows that here as
in other localities in this region several types of burial occur
in these mounds, both examples of the bone burials and of
the flexed and full length burials having been found in them.
Since the arrival of the first white settlers on the site of
Madison Winnebago Indian camps have existed from time
to time on the Dividing ridge in Greenbush, on the site of
Vilas Park, and in the Bartlett and Lake Forest woods.
Numerous stones from former Indian fireplaces have been
collected by Mr. A. 0. Barton and the writer on the culti-
vated land of the Gay farm near the north boundary fence
of the land surrounding the Bryant spring, indicating that
in recent years the Winnebago also occasionally camped
there. A few hearthstones and potsherds were also obtained
from several knolls beyond the lowlands lying to the west of
this spring. No indications of flint chipping sites were found
on these or other cultivated lands located south of the lake.
Corn was cultivated by the Indians in at least one locality
on the shores of this lake, the corn hills being in evidence up
to the time when the improvement of the lands now in-
cluded in Vilas Park were undertaken. Caches or provision
pits existed in the vicinity. It is very probable that a num-
ber of small circles shown by Lapham on his plat of the
Dividing Ridge mounds represent storage pits of this char-
acter, the circles being too small to represent mounds.
Since 1909, the writer and other local members of the
Wisconsin Archeological Society have made every effort to
preserve as many as possible of the prehistoric Indian earth-
works located about the five Madison lakes, which have long
had a country-wide reputation for their scenic beauty. This
Lake Wingra 117
effort to save to future generations of Wisconsin citizens as
many examples as possible of these earliest American monu-
ments has already met with strong public approval. This
interest in their welfare is increasing year by year. Not a
few mounds and including a number of those situated
on the shores of Lake Wingra have been permanently pre-
served. These the Society has caused to be marked with
descriptive tablets. Others are receiving the protection of
the individuals on whose properties they happen to be lo-
cated. The assistance of all citizens of Madison is asked in
securing the preservation of others. We have a right to ex-
pect that the members of the Wingra Land Company and of
the Lake Forest Land Company will take every precaution
to preserve to the public some of the best examples of
the remarkable aboriginal monuments now located on the
Lake Wingra properties which they are now placing upon
the market as future residence sections of the city.
In closing this monograph the author desires to acknowl-
edge the assistance given the Wisconsin Archeological So-
ciety by Dr. Arlow B. Stout, Mr. E. G. Artzberger, Mr. A.
0. Barton, Mr. Sidney Jackson, Mr. W. J. Fuller, Mr.
Whitney Seymour and others who assisted in the conduct-
ing of the necessary surveys and researches, and by the
Messrs. W. W. Warner, James M. Pyott and T. E. Brit-
tingham, who generously provided the several mound tablets
now in place.
118 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 3
ARCHEOLOGICAL NOTES
The Wisconsin Archeological Society has erected a descriptive brass
tablet on a series of Indian burial mounds located on the pleasure drive at
Edgewood, and another on a similar mound near the zoo in Vilas Park,
both on the shore of Lake Wingra, at Madison. Both are the gift of Mr.
James M. Pyott, of Chicago, a valued member of the Society. The Dane
County Catholic Women's Club is considering the marking of a fine bird
efTigy situated on the grounds of the Dominican Sisters, at Edgewood.
During the month of June Secretary Brown made a trip to the San
Francisco and San Diego expositions. On his way to the Coast he visited
the state, municipal and other museums at Omaha, Lincoln, Denver,
Colorado Springs, Salt Lake City, and Oakland, and on his return the
museums of Los Angeles and Santa Fe. He expresses himself as greatly
pleased with the great progress which is being made at these and the several
San Francisco institutions of this character.
The Wisconsin Archeological Society is formally advised by the State
Board of Public Affairs that the state legislature has failed to grant its
request for an increase of its printing appropriation, and has denied its
modest request for research and survey funds. Bill No. 758, A. embodying
these appropriations was recommended for passage by the Joint Finance
Committee of the Legislature but was killed on the floor of the Assembly.
The failure of the Legislature to make provision for the continuance of the
state archaeological surveys, begun by the Society in 1912, will prove a
great disappointment to its many members, patrons and friends and
especially to those men who during the past three years have freely given
both their time and expert services to conducting archaeological researches
in remote and unexplored quarters of Wisconsin. As shown in its printed
reports these researches have garnered a rich harvest of information
concerning the state's archaeological history which is already proving of
great value to its educational institutions and citizens and is highly ap-
preciated by institutions of learning throughout the United States.
Mr. Herbert C. Fish, a former member of the Society, has resigned his
position as curator of the niuseum of the State Historical Society, at Bis-
marck. He held this office for a number of years in that time assembling
state historical and archaeological collections which promise to prove of
great future value to students.
Mr. Charles R. Keyes of Mt. Vernon, Iowa, has been elected a life mem-
ber of the Wisconsin Society. Miss Bertha M. Ferch, Milwaukee, Dr.
Fredericka C. Zeller, Peoria, Illinois, and Mr. S. K. Lathrop, Harvard,
Massachusetts, are newly elected annual members. Syracuse University,
Syracuse, New York, has become an institutional member.
'/|»MIM/
'////
v^^L^
t
Vilas Group
Plate 16
Archeological Notes 119
On Saturday, July 10, the annual historical pilgrimage of University
of Wisconsin summer session students was conducted by Secretary Brown.
The excursion to the points of archeological and historical interest on the
shores of Lake Mendota was made by means of one of the largest of the
lake boats and was limited to one hundred participants. This excursion
was so successful that on July 22 a second party of students was, by request
of the University, conducted over the same route. A large amount of
literature on the subject of the archaeology and history of the region about
Madison was also distributed to students during the session.
Mr. E. E. Bailey of Little Rapids has favored the Society with drawings
of a number of native copper implements recently added to his collection.
These include a small perforated circular pendant, a crescent, several awls
and a number of leaf-shaped, stemmed and socketted spear points.
The State Historical Society of Kansas is reported to have organized an
archaeological section to assume direction of the conducting of investiga-
tions in that state. Ex-senator George P. Morehouse has been chosen to
serve as its chairman.
The Department of Commerce, U. S. Census Bureau, has prepared a
report, Indians of the United States and Alaska, in which are assembled the
principal statistics relating to the Indian population which were
collected in the Census of 1910. The data given covers such matters as
geographical distribution, density of population, linguistic stocks, tribes,
sex, age, marital condition, polygamy, fecundity and vitality, school
attendance, illiteracy, inability to speak English, occupations and Indians
taxed and not taxed.
During the month of June there were called by death two of the Society's
best friends, Dr. Lewis Sherman and Father John E. Copus, both of
Milwaukee. Dr. Sherman was well known in Milwaukee where he had
large business and professional interests. He was one of the organizers
and at the time of his death a director of the Wisconsin Archeological
Society. He was also a prominent member of the Wisconsin Academy of
Sciences and the president of the Wisconsin Mycological Society. Father
Copus held the position of dean of the school of journalism of Marquette
University, and was a noted writer and lecturer. He published a number of
books, some of which had a wide sale. Until the time of their illness both
men were constant attendants at the lectures and meetings of the Society.
Both were large-hearted, kindly men and will be greatly missed by all who
knew them.
The Society of American Indians will meet at the University of Kansas,
at Lawrence, on September 28 to October 4. Some sessions will also be
held at the Haskell Indian School, in the same city. Prominent Indians
and friends of Indian progress from every part of the country are expected
to be present and participate in the conferences.
120 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 3
Mr. W. Straley of Hico, Texas, has succeeded Mr. W. L. Griffin as
editor of The Archaeological Bulletin. The July-August issue of the
bulletin contains a particularly interesting continued article by Col. Geo.
Laidlaw, entitled "Archaeological Notes on Victoria County, Ontario"
and a number of shorter articles and items.
In an effort to encourage the preservation and marking of local Indian
monuments the Wisconsin Archaeological Society has furnished to the
Women's Clubs in the Eighth District, W. F. W. C, a list of the old Indian
village sites, planting grounds, cemeteries, mounds and trails in their
respective localities. In this district are included the clubs at Wausau,
Stevens Point, Nekoosa, Mosinee, Marshfield, Shawano, Plainfield, New
London, Wautoma and Clintonville. Last year similar data was supplied
to the clubs in the Second and Third Districts. The clubs of the Wiscon-
sin Federation have for some years past borne an important part in this
work.
We take pleasure in informing our friends of the recent erection in
Lapham Park, at Milwaukee, of a fine bronze tablet to the memory of
Increase A. Lapham, scientist and Wisconsin pioneer. This large tablet
is the work of A. II. Atkins, a Milwaukee, sculptor and is the gift of the
Old Settlers Club. It is "erected in memory of his services to the cause of
human knowledge and his unselfish devotion to the welfare of the people."
Messrs. S. G. Lapham, Charles Lapham and the Misses Mary J. and Julia
A. Lapham, sons and daughters of Dr. Lapham, were present during the
unveiling ceremonies.
The Waukesha County Historical Society at its recent annual meeting
appointed a committee to confer with Mr. P'red Pabst, the present owner
concerning the permanent preservation of the remaining effigy mounds of
a fine group once widely known as the Regula mounds, located in a pasture
on his farm, near Oconomowoc. We trust that this committee may be
successful in its undertaking. Mr. Pabst can well afford to thus per-
petuate his own interest. Dr. Fred C. Rogers, a member of the Wis-
consin Society is a member of the committeee appointed
All persons who receive copies of this bulletin, and who are interested,
are cordially invited to become members of the State Society and to thus
assist in the support of its work. All will receive its publications as issued.
Vol. 14 December, 1915 No. 4
THE
WISCONSIN
ARCHEOLOGIST
INDIAN REMAINS
IN MANITOWOC COUNTY
PUBLISHED BY THE
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
MILWAUKEE
Wisconsin Archeological
Society
MILWAUKEE, WIS.
Incorporated March 23, 1903, for the purpose of advancing the study and
' / pireservation of Wisconsin antiquities.
OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
G. A. WEST _. Milwaukee
VICE-PRESIDENTS
DR. S. A. BARRETT Milwaukee
DR. ORRIN THOMPSON Neenah
W. H. ELLSWORTH Milwaukee
W. A. TITUS Fond du Lac
H. E. COLE Baraboo
DIRECTORS
DR. E. J. W. NOTZ Milwaukee
J. RINGEISEN, JR Milwaukee
TREASURER
LEE R. WHITNEY Milwaukee
SECRETARY
CHARLES E. BROWN.. Madison
COMMITTEES
STATE SURVEY— Ellis B. Usher, L. R. Whitney, G. R. Fox, C. E. Brown, Dr.
S. A. Barrett, Dr. Louis Falge, H. L. Skavlem.
MOUND PRESERVATION— Prof. Albert iS. T'lint, Prof. L. B. Wolfenson, Mrs.
E. H. Van Ostrand, P. V. Lawson, J. M. Pyott, B. F. Faast, T. L. Miller,
R. P. Ferry, Dr. N. P. Hulst, C. W. Norris, C. L. Dering, B. O. Bishop, R. S.
Owen, Grant Fitch, G. H. Squier, Chas. Lapham, Rev. J. H. Huhn, W. W.
Gilman, Dr. A. F. Heising, Dr. F. C. Rogers.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS— Henry L. Ward, Prof. A. H. Sanford, Dr. G. L. Collie,
Mrs. Jessie R. Skinner, C. L. Fortier, Mrs. E. C. Wiswall, H. P. Hamilton,
J. P. Schumacher, Hon. Emil Baensch, W. W. Warner, B. H. Brah, Most Rev.
S. G. Messmer, Dr. Frederick Starr, Dr. W. C. Daland, H. H. Schufeldt, Jr.,
Dr. J. J. Davis, R. H. Becker, Col. G. Pabst, Mrs. Mary J. Wilmarth, Hon.
A. J. Horlick, F. H. Lyman, W. P. Clarke, Dr. W. H. Brown.
MEMBERSHIP — Jos. Ringeisen, B. W. Davis, Rev. L. E. Drexel, Paul Joers,
O. L. Obermaier, W. A. Phillips, Miss Julia A. Lunn, L. R. Gagg, A. Crozier,
A. Gerth, W. A. Wenz, C. G. Schofewe, W. H. Vogel, Miss Minna M. Kunckell,
A. W. Pond, E. C. Tagatz, W. A. Kraatz, A. H. Quan, J. V. Berens, Miss
Emma Richmond, A. T. Newman, H. O. Younger, Thomas Bardon, W. H.
Zuehlke, Prof. F. G. Mueller.
PRESS — John Poppendieck, Jr., A. O. Barton, E. R. Mclntyre, R. H. Plumb,
Miss Mary E. Stewart, A. G. Braband, H. A. Smythe, Jr.
MAN MOUND — Jacob Van Orden, Dr. W. G. McLachlan, Miss Jennie Baker.
SESSIONS
These are held in the Lecture Room in the Library-Museum
Building, in Milwaukee, on the third Monday of each month, at
8 P.M.
During the months of July to October no meetings will be held.
MEMBERSHIP FEES
Life Members, $25.00 Sustaining Members, $5.00
Annual Members, $2.00
All communications in regard to the Wisconsin Archeological Society or to the
"Wisconsin Archeologist" should be addressed to Charles E. Brown, Secretary and
Curator, Office, State Historical Museum, Madison, Wisconsin.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Vol. 14, No. 4
ARTICLES
Page
Indian Remains in Manitowoc County, Louis Falge, M. D 122
Archeological Notes 165
ILLUSTRATIONS
Chief Wampum Frontispiece
Map of Manitowoc County 123
Facing
Plate Page
1. Stone and Copper Implements, H. Geo. Schuette Collection.. 124
2. Manitowoc Rapids 134
3. Quarry Group 136
4. Old Solomon 138
5. Bone and Shell Implements, Louis Falge Collection 142
6. Indian Remains at the Forks 146
7. Fluted Stone Axe, H. Geo. Schuette Collection 150
8. Bartz Group 154
9. Zahn Mound 158
10. Zahn Group 160
11. Copper Chisel, H. P. Hamilton Collection 162
Chief Wampum
(Wau-me-ge-sa-ko or Mexico)
The Wisconsin Archeologist
Quarterly Bulletin Published by the Wisconsin Archeologrical Society
Vol. 14 MADISON, WIS., DECEMBER, 1915 No. 4
INDIAN REMAINS IN MANITOWOC COUNTY
Louis Falge, M. D.
Introduction
The county of Manitowoc, located in eastern Wisconsin,
is one of eighteen townships. It is bounded on the north
by Kewaunee and Brown counties, on the west by Calumet
county, on the south by Sheboygan county and on the east
by Lake Michigan. Its 520 square miles of rich soil, its long
stretch of lake shore, its forests of pine and mixed hardwood
plentifully watered by numerous streams abounding in fish
and water fowl, provided an ideal home for the aborigines
and justified its name, Manitowoc, the Home of the Great
Spirit.
The well-known Kettle range of eastern Wisconsin tra-
verses its western townships in several irregular ridges having
a general north and south trend. This range of hills is the
result of a second advance of the glacial ice sheet, one of the
most remarkable glacial actions known. Nestled among the
hills of these ridges are no less than one hundred and fifty
small lakes varying in area from an acre or less to the largest
which are two hundred acres or more in extent. These small
lakes were particularly attractive to the Indians.
The principal streams in the county are the Manitowoc,
East and West Twin and the Branch river. The former
flow into Lake Michigan and the latter unites with the
Manitowoc in Manitowoc Rapids township. Mud creek,
fourth in importance, connects with the Manitowoc in
Rockland township.
Everywhere in the county are to be seen countless bould-
ers of granite and other hard rocks rounded by attrition
through glacial action and locally known as *'hard-heads."
MAP INDEX
The numbers refer to the numbering of the map and
of the text descriptions
1.
Musson Group
28. ]
2.
Van Vleck Mounds
28a. ]
3.
Smith Enclosure
28b.
4.
Buell Mounds
29. !
5.
Stolze Mounds
30. ]
6.
First Ward Cemetery and
31. ]
Corn Field
32. ]
6a.
Little Manitowoc Camp Site
33. ]
7.
County House Hill Camp Site
34. :
8:
Indian Hill Camp Site
35. ]
9.
Indian Flats Planting Ground
36. ]
and Cemetery
37. '
10.
Winke Garden Beds
38. .
11.
Winke Burials
39. 1
12.
Braunel Cemetery
40. .
13.
Wampum's Grave
41. !
14.
Wampum Monument
42. ]
15.
Cholera Graves
43. ]
16.
Thiebeau's Cabin
44. (
17.
Wampum's Cabin
45. ]
18.
Pleuss Caches
45a. :
18a.
Hamernik Implement Cache
46. ^
19.
Cato mounds
47. ]
20.
Clarks Mills Camp Site
48. ]
21.
Quitos' Camp Site
49-50.
22.
Erickson Camp Site
51. !
23.
Quarry Group
52. ]
24..
Carroll Grave
53. ]
24a.
, Haes Camp Site
54. :
25.
Island Village Site
55. (
26.
Mud Creek Camp Site
56. ]
27.
Mulcahy Caches
57. ]
Branch River Camp Site
Mangin Camp Site
Pfeffer Site
Site of Ware Murder
Reynolds' Cache
Hagenow Cache
Na-na-bou-jous village
Hathaway Camp Site
Silver Creek Camp Site
Molasses Creek Camp Site
Neshoto Mounds
Two Creeks Village Site
Jean Vieau's Landing
Chandelle's Village
Jambo Creek Trading Post
Smith Planting Ground
Darius Peck Cemetery
Huletz Cemetery
Coopertown Village Site
Northeim Site
Stuempges Lake Camp Site
Waaks Lake Camp Site
Mill Mound
Main Street Grave
. Kiel Mounds
Solomon's Village
Mensqua's Village
Bartz Group and Village Site
Zahn Group
Gilbertson Group
Riedel Cemetery
Killsnake Cemetery
Indians Remains in Manitowoc County 123
The smaller of these stones the Indians found convenient
for use in the manufacture of the larger stone implements,
such as axes, celts, gouges, chisels, mauls and hammers.
Along the entire extent of the Lake Michigan shore are
great quantities of trap, flat, smoothly worn pebbles, vary-
ing in size, color, structure and composition, which by proc-
ess of battering, flaking and grinding were readily converted
into various useful articles. Supphes of flint and other ma-
terials used in the fashioning of arrow and spearpoints,
knives, perforators and scrapers it was necessary to import
from other sections of the state and from more distant
regions.
Shell and bone were also employed in the making of im-
plements and ornaments. Due, however to the perishable
nature of these materials but comparatively few specimens
of these have been found. Those recovered have been ob-
tained chiefly from the sandy village sites of the region north
of Two Rivers.
Fragments of aboriginal earthenware vessels are still
found on these same sandy sites, but much comminuted,
on the camp sites of the interior and occasionally in the
proximity of springs. This earthenware was both tempered
with shell, and with sand and crushed rock, sherds of the
latter character greatly predominating. This rock-tempered
ware is of thicker and decidedly coarser make than that tem-
pered with shell. Its style and ornamentation is of a pro-
nounced Algonquian character so that if mingled with the
ordinary sherds of Atlantic coast sites the two would be
indistinguishable. Only two complete vessels from Mani-
towoc county are in existence. Both were restored from
fragments and are in the collection of Mr. Henry P. Hamil-
ton at Two Rivers. These vessels and potsherds from the
sites north of Two Rivers are described and illustrated by
Dr. W. H. Holmes in his monograph on the "Aboriginal
Pottery of the Eastern United States" (20 Ann. Rep., B. A.
E.). A description and illustration of the two vessels also
appears in the Wisconsin Archeologist (V. 1, No. 1, pp.
10-11).
The larger vessel is thirteen inches in height, measures
four feet at its greatest circumference and weighs ten pounds.
The smaller is of about the size of a large cup.
124 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 4
Wisconsin and particularly its eastern counties are very
rich in implements fashioned from native copper. None of
these counties excells Manitowoc county in the number and
variety of those recovered. Additional finds of such imple-
ments are constantly being reported.
Mr. Henry P. Hamilton of Two Rivers has by patience
and perseverance succeeded in accumulating what is to-
day the largest and most valuable private or public collection
of copper implements in America, numbering at the present
time 1435 specimens. Of this total number 1140 are of the
larger sizes, — approximately 300 specimens, such as beads,
perforators, fishhooks, etc., being too small to be labelled.
Most of the latter were collected from the Indian village sites
at and near Two Rivers.
Of the 1140 large specimens only 62 are from localities
beyond the borders of Wisconsin, and 361 are from Mani-
towoc county. Mr. Hamilton's collection is very widely
known among archeologists, specimens from it having been
frequently described in the Wisconsin Archeologist and in
other periodicals, books and newspapers.
A careful examination of other local collections would add
about 200 additional copper implements to the list of those
obtained in Manitowoc county. Hundreds of other speci-
mens have found their way to the State Historical Museum
at Madison, the Milwaukee Public Museum, the Logan Mu-
seum at Chicago, the American Museum of Natural History
at New York, the United States National Museum at
Washington, and other less prominent institutions of this
character. Many others have been carried away by former
residents of the county to distant parts of the country.
These copper implements have very largely been recovered
by the cultivation by the white residents of the county, of
Indian village sites, but few having been obtained from burial
mounds, which are not numerous within its limits.
It is now tolerably well established that the source of
this copper is the Lake Superior region where primitive
'''mines" have been worked by the Indians from very ancient
times. From these diggings the raw material was trans-
ported by water and land routes to various parts of this
state. Thousands of copper nuggets from small pieces to
those weighing hundreds of pounds have been unearthed by
stone and Copper Implements
H. Geo. Schuette Collection
Plate 1
Indian Remains in Manitowoc County 125
the plow. This native or "float" copper has undoubtedly
been lost or cached in transit by Indians. The theory
that these pieces were torn from the mother lode and car-
ried by the glaciers is now scarcely tenable. The largest
copper specimen recorded as having been found in Mani-
towoc county, weighing 144 pounds, was plowed up by
Joseph Zeman, near Kellnersville.
The total number of aboriginal implements and orna-
ments recovered in Manitowoc county is enormous. The
most extensive private collections of these, next to that
owned by Mr. Hamilton, are those of Mr. H. George Schuette
and of the writer, both in Manitowoc. Other county collec-
tions of smaller extent are elsewhere described or men-
tioned in this report.
Of solitary mounds and mound groups Manitowoc county
has only a very small number, when compared to those lo-
cated in other counties of the state. The total number of
Indian mounds of which there is a record as having formerly
existed in Manitowoc county and at the Forks of the Mani-
towoc river, is 71. These were distributed as follows:
Conical
Groups. or Linear. Effigy.
Oval.
1. Musson Group 12 2
2. Stolze Mounds __ 2
3. Van Vleck Mounds 3
4. Gato Mounds 2 __ • __
5. Quarry Group __ 4 1 .
6. Two Rivers Mound 1
7. Mill Mound 1 __ __
8. Zahn Group 1 __ 10
9. Forks (Gilbertson) Group 8 1
10. Bartz Group 15 __ 8
Total 43 9 19
Of the linears all but one, a cross-shaped earthwork, were
straight-sided embankment-shaped and tapering mounds.
Of the effigies seventeen are mounds of the familiar panther
type, one represents a bird and one the turtle. Of the
mounds, garden beds, cornfields, cemeteries, caches and other
Indian remains described in this report nearly all have now
been obliterated in the process of the cultivation of the soil, or
have been ruthlessly destroyed by vandals, pseudo-scien-
tists and relic hunters. In the early days the physicians of
the county secured their office skeletons from some of the
old Indian burial places.
126 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14. No. 4
INDIAN HISTORY
Jean Nicolet, the first European to set foot on Wisconsin
soil, landed at the Red Banks, on Green Bay, in 1634. He
reported the Winnebago in possession of that region which
no doubt included the lands of our county. These Indians
were driven southwest by the Sac and Fox Indians, and
these in turn by the Menominees.
Jedidiah Morse in his report made to the Secretary of
War, in 1820, says:
"Major Swan informed me on the authority of Col.
Bowyer and an old Ottawa chief living at Mainitowauk, the
river of Bad Spirits, that more than a century ago (before
1727), the Fox and Sac Indians, who were the inhabitants
of the country on Green Bay and 'Fox River, were con-
quered and driven away by the Menominees, aided by
the Ottawas and Chippewas, but the Menominees held
the country by conquest and that their title is admitted by
the Sacs, Foxes, Chippewas and Ottawas."
John Y. Mexico, the youngest of Chief Wampum's sons,
now living in Keshena, in an interview with officers of the
Manitowoc County Historical Society, stated that accord-
ing to tradition some Chippewas from northern Wisconsin
and Ottawa from northern Michigan migrated to this region
in the first half of the eighteenth Century, at which time the
Pottawatomie, an aUied tribe, had supplanted the Winne-
bago who withdrew westward. Owing to the close similarity
of the language of the Chippewa, Ottawa, and Pottawatomie,
these bands, by common consent, were always more or less
closely associated under the leadership of a head chief, who
at the time of the opening of these lands to settlement, in
1835, was Old Chief Wampum, otherwise known as Mexico.
John Y. Mexico, or Waumegesako. In spite of the occupa-
tion of present Manitowoc county by these three allied
tribes, the real owners of the region were acknowledged to
be to the Menominee.
By a treaty with this tribe, made in Washington, in 1831,
all the territory to the east of Green Bay, the Fox river,
Lake Winnebago, and from Death's Door to Milwauke e
was sold to the United States. A land office was estab-
lished at Green Bay, a survey was completed in the sum-
Indian Remains in Manitowoc County 127
mer of 1835, and lands were thrown open for settlement.
A grand rush of speculators and settlers into the region
ensued, which accounts for the simultaneous rise and set-
tlement of the cities of Milwaukee, Port Washington,
Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Two Rivers, Kewaunee and
Ahnapee, in 1836.
The total number of Indians within the confines of our
county probably never exceeded one thousand. Col. Abra-
ham Edwards mentions that:
"In 1818, he with seven expert canoemen from Green
Bay paddled along Lake Michigan. At Two Rivers and
Manitowoc the shore of the lake was lined with Indians,
near Manitowoc many were out in canoes spearing white-
fish."
As early as 1823 and as late as 1832, Moses Swan and
Isaac Haertzel, traders, carried on trade at Porte des Morts,
Chaboigun, Munnetoowock and Milwaukee river. They
made the voyage from Mackinac in a Mackinaw boat.
Henry S. Baird states that in 1824, the three leading trad-
ing posts on the western shore of Lake Michigan were Mil-
waukee, Sheboygan and Manitowoc.
Morgan L. Martin states that, in 1828:
"The whole region extending from the entrance of Green
Bay as far as Milwaukee was occupied by Pottawatomies
and Ottawas. Their principal villages were at Manitowoc
Pigeon and Sheboygan Rivers."
Alexis Clermont, who in 1833 carried the mail from Fort
Howard to Chicago, found large villages of Indians at Mani-
towoc and Sheboygan, but not many at Milwaukee.
In the State Historical Museum is a war club which once
belonged to Na-ya-to-shingh, or He who lays by himself, a
Chippewa chief of Manitowoc, who died in 1838, being then
over one hundred years old.
On September 2 and 3, 1862, occurred that mysterious
"Indian Scare" of southeastern Wisconsin, the real cause of
which has never been ascertained. The news of the terrible
massacre at New Ulm, Minnesota, had filled the Northwest
people with horror and apprehension, while dismal news
from the front during the darkest period of the Civil war
brought additional gloomy forebodings. Everything was
ripe for the sudden and unreasonable panic among the settlers
128 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 4
that followed simultaneously on the night of September 2
in the entire region from Kewaunee to Milwaukee and west-
ward to Lake Winnebago. Everywhere the cry was heard,
"The Indians are coming." Fire bells and church bells gave
warning to the frightened people. Messengers on horse-
back warned the outlying settlers. Farms were abandoned,
valuables hidden, the roads were Uned with long caravans
of terror stricken people hurrying to the nearest village where
companies of defenders were being rapidly organized and
armed. Villages were reported burned and the inhabitants
massacred.
True there were some who doubted, and some who scouted,
but the contagious fear spread even to these. When sober
judgment succeeded many were the ludicrous incidents
narrated, but even days after the excitement had abated,
many of the frightened farmers could not be pursuaded to
return to their homes.
It is supposed that the whole hoax was the work of Copper-
heads or Southern sympathizers to prevent enlistment at
a time when sorely needed. At this late day it is difficult
to realize how such absurd and incredible reports could
have gained credence, for at that time but a few peaceable
Indians were located in that part of Wisconsin affected by
the scare.
Of the two hundred or more geographical names in Mani-
towoc County only four are of Indian origin, all being
derived from the Chippewa, — Neshoto (river) meaning
twins; Meeme (town) signifying pigeon; Mishicott (river)
named after an chief, meaning "Hairy Leg," — and Mani-
towoc.
Alfred Brunson of Prairie du Chien gives the name of
the latter as originating from Munedoo, a general Indian
name for spirit and woe or awk signifying "Habitation of
the Good Spirit." Indian Agent Samuel Stambaugh of
Green Bay, in his report on Wisconsin Territory, in 1831,
refers to the Manitowoc river as the Devil's Den river.
Joshua Hathaway gives the name of the river as Devil's
Den and hints at a tradition among the Chippewa that
a nondescript being was several times observed at its
mouth, hence its name. B. P. H. Witherell, on the author-
ity of Louis M. Moran, a Chippewa interpreter, gives the
Indian Remains in Manitowoc County 129
name Manitowoc as meaning the "home or place of spirits.'*
Father Chrysostom Verwyst gives the name as "Mani-
towog" (spirit spawn) and explains that "pagan Indians
imagined that spirits spawn like fish." Dr. W. J. Hoffman
in his Menominee-English glossary, published in the
14 Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, gives
the word as meaning "much game", which is evidently
erroneous.
Allusions to early French explorers, missionaries, and
traders who passed the shores of this county are given in
the Wisconsin Archeologist (V. 11, pp. 75-77).
INDIAN REMAINS
City of Manitowoc
1. Musson Group. Dr. Increase A. Lapham in his
"Antiquities of Wisconsin" (p. 22, pi. 32, No. 3) gives an
illustration of a group of mounds reported to him by Mr.
Charles Musson of Manitowoc, in a letter of the early
fifties.
"There are some mounds and embankments, or breast-
works, found about half a mile northwest from the town, on
a high, level and dry piece of ground, of considerable extent.
These embankments now rise to the height of about four
feet; their breadth at the base being from ten to twelve feet.
"In once place there are two, ranging north and south
parallel to each other; one about thirty rods, the other
forty rods long, and seventy rods apart. They present
every appearance of having been works of defence for two
contending parties. In the vicinity of the breastworks,
between and to the south of them, are about twelve mounds,
varying in size; some are as large as fifteen feet in diameter
at the base, and eight feet in height. Some have been
opened, and, I think, in one bones were found; but nothing
certain can now be known. It seems highly probable that
this might have been a battleground and these mounds
the burial places of the slain. The suggestion is not the less
probable from the fact of there not being anything in them
which can be recognized as human remains. For it is certain,
from the size of the trees growing on the apparent fortifi-
cations, that they must have been erected centuries ago;
on some are pine trees four feet in diameter."
130 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 4
Upon making a personal examination of this group Lap-
ham describes it as follows:
"They are situated on the N. E. Quarter of Tp. 19, Sec. 19,
half a mile northwest of the village. There are eight mounds
situated on a level plain elevated about sixty feet above the
river to which there is a very steep descent. They are not
exactly round but of an oval form, the longest diameter
lying in a north and south direction, or at right angles
with the steep bank. One of them was penetrated to some
depth below the original surface, but not the least trace
of any deposit could be detected. Pits had been dug in
several other mounds, but so far as we could learn uniformly
with the same negative results. The soil here is sandy
and the materials of the mounds consist of sand with spots
of darker color or mould as if portions of the surface soil
were mixed with saYid."
These mounds were once located about the 0. Torrison
residence in the sixth ward and in the adjoining Buell sub-
division. Judge J. S. Anderson remembers them well, and
claims that there must have been not less than twenty-five
mounds in all. To this day human remains are occasion-
ally brought to light here. While excavating for the founda-
tion of the 0. R. Bacon house, now the G. C. West place,
two skeletons were found. While laying gas mains, in
1908, workmen unearthed a human skull. This was on
Michigan Avenue to the south of Mr. L. J. Nash's residence.
Another was found in 1911, while laying mains on Four-
teenth Street, to the west of the Nash place. Still another
skeleton, very much decomposed, was found by workmen
while leveling the grounds of the nearby McKinley School.
2. Van Vleck Mounds. South of New York avenue
near the western limits of the city, on the August Eberhardt
place, a former owner, Mr. Van Vleck, many years ago,
leveled one large and two small conical mounds. In the
large one a skeleton said to have been interred in a sitting
posture, was found.
Smith Enclosure. At the foot of State street, on
lots 8, 9 and 10, in block 63, just south of the standpipe
of the city water works, there existed up to about 1871, a
circular enclosure, surrounded by an embankment 3 feet
in height, and of an estimated diameter of about 150 or
175 feet, — this according to Mr. Perry Smith, an early
Indian Remains in Manitowoc County 131
settler. Judge Anderson remembers it distinctly, his atten-
tion being called to it on first locating in the city, in 1855.
Pine trees nearly three feet in diameter were cut from this
enclosure. It was probably constructed for the presentation
of Indian dances or ceremonies. These must have been
discontinued many years before the advent of white men.
To the west, on the side next the river, a path extending
down the bluff led to the stream.
4. Buell Mounds. Judge Anderson states, that:
"In the spring of 1856, that part of the city known as
Buell subdivision was platted and improved. While this
was being plowed and put into shape, I remember distinctly
that in that part of Richmond Street between Michigan and
New York avenues there were two mounds which were
leveled. I very clearly remember watching Mr. Buell
superintending the work with a team and scraper and I am
able to locate the situation of those two mounds with reason-
able exactness."
These may have formed a part of the Musson group
already described. He continues:
"Soon after I went to reside where I now live, in block III,
my attention was called to a slight rise near the south end
of lot 10. The rise above the level was so slight that I
did not suspect it of being an Indian mound until I deter-
mined to level it for a garden. As I dug up this little mound
the mould become black. In smoothing the ground the
rake struck something metallic. Thinking it to be a spike
I picked it up and found it to a copper awl."
5. Stolze Mounds. Two linear mounds were destroyed
while grading the right-of-way of the Milwaukee & Lake
Shore Railroad, just west of the railroad bridge, in 1871.
Among the articles secured from these mounds by mem-
bers of the Henry Stolze, Sr. family at that time, were a
fme Indian pipe and a number of large potsherds. Rem-
nants of both mounds still exist on both sides of the track.
A number of solitary and possibly groups of mounds are
also reported to have existed north of the river, but at this
late day it is almost impossible to verify these reports.
6. First Ward Corn Field and Cemetery. In 1836,
an Indian corn field and cemetery were located on the river
bank, on Commercial street, at the foot of Sixth street,
132 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14. No. 4
Just prior to the days of the civil war one of the graves
was opened and some pieces of pottery found. No exact
information concerning its character is available.
Peleg Glover, "Colonel" by courtesy, whose store was
located on the corner of Sixth and York streets, enjoyed
the fullest confidence of the Indians. Here they traded
their packs of skins, maple sugar and beadwork, baskets,
etc., for blankets, ammunition, tobacco, flour and cheap
trinkets. At his store they lounged about at all hours of
the day and night, talked and met acquaintances from dis-
tant parts.
The South Side of the city in earlier days was low and
swampy, hence not a very desirable abode. However, one
favorite camping place of the Indians was on the edge of the
swamp at the mouth of Sherman's creek, where Elevator
B now stands. The creek has long ago been filled in, only
a few hollows here and there, revealing where it once wound
its way.
Mr. H. George Schuette of Manitowoc possesses the
second largest collection of aboriginal relics in the county,
almost all being from local sites. These are neatly arranged
for inspection in cases placed in the large department store
of the Schuette Brothers. Plates 1 and 7 represent some of
his most interesting specimens.
The writer possesses the only other large collection of
local relics consisting of several thousand specimens, accumu-
lated within the past fifteen years. The Carnegie library
is to provide the necessary cases for this collection, which
will form the nucleus of a museum of Manitowoc County
antiquities to be cared for by the Manitowoc County His-
torical Society.
Manitowoc Township
6a. Little Manitowoc Camp Site. The wide expanse
of water at the mouth of the Little Manitowoc river was
once a favorite Indian fishing and camping place. The
fish speared by them at this place were principally white
fish, the natives coming for considerable distances to partici-
pate in the fishing.
Indian Remains in Manitowoc County 133
Manitowoc Rapids Township
See Plate 2
The Manitowoc river is a fine stream with its source near
Lake Winnebago and flowing in a general easterly direction
for a distance of some sixty miles. It offered a ready means
of communication and travel for which reason evidences
of former Indian occupation along its banks and those of
its tributaries are fairly numerous.
Two miles up the river in a most charming situation
is nestled the quiet village of Manitowoc R^ids. Along
the river banks and among its ravines nature lovers and
the well-to-do of the nearby city of Manitowoc have built
their summer homes. Being situated on the prominent
Indian trail which ran from Green Bay to Chicago, now
known as the Green Bay road, it was chosen as the county
seat, remaining so until 1853, when this was removed to
its more prosperous rival, Manitowoc.
Here was located one of the best known Indian villages
on the western shore of Lake Michigan, consisting of Chip-
pewa with an admixture of Ottawa and Pottawatomie.
Here too was established, by Jean Vieau in 1795, one of a
series of trading posts of the Northwest Fur company.
In 1835, when the lands were opened up for settlement,
the natives were presided over by Old Chief Wampum,
also known as Mexico, John Y. Mexico, or Wau me ge sa ko,
whose portrait, painted by Mark R. Harrison, is pre-
served in the State Historical Museum at Madison. His
leadership was acknowledged by the mixed Indian villages
as far away as the Sheboygan river and western Calumet
county. Chief Wampum was born in 1789 and died in
1844. His father's name was Chaiconda. His grandfather,
Etoigeshak, migrated with his band of Chippewa and
Ottawa from Canada to these parts in the second quarter
of the eighteenth century, the Chippewa settUng on the
Manitowoc river, while the Ottawa located on the Twin
rivers and lake shore north of Two Rivers.
Chief Mexico took a prominent part in and signed the
treaties of Butte des Morts, in 1827; of Green Bay, in 1828;
of Prairie du Chien, in 1829; and of Chicago, in 1833. At
134 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 4
this latter place his prominence is attested to by the fact
that "Wah-mix-i-co" was the fifth to sign in a list of seventy-
six chiefs. Those interested may find an account of a duel
fought at Chicago by two young braves for the hand of
one of his daughters, at which 5,000 Indians and 300 whites
were present, while the treaty was being negotiated, in a
"Narrative of Peter J. Vieau" printed in the Wisconsin
Historical Collections (v. 15). In this account Vieau gives
the home of Wampum as being at Sheboygan, an error.
In 1834, Wamixico and Te-she-shing-ge-bay gave per-
mission to Col. Crocker to build a mill on the Sheboygan
river near SJbeboygan Falls, the first to be built in these
parts.
In 1828, a deputation of fifteen Indians and one squaw
in charge of Governor Cass of Michigan Territory, Major
Forsythe and Captain Kinzie traveled by way of Green
Bay, Mackinaw, Detroit, Buffalo, Utica, Schenectady,
Albany, Philadelphia, and Baltimore to Washington to con-
clude and sign the articles of agreement of the Treaty of
Green Bay. "Waymeek-see-go or Wampum" was one of
these. The Niles Register of Nov. 8, 1828 states that:
"Their movements have been minutely detailed in the New
York papers and appear to have excited great curiosity."
A more detailed biography of this well known chief can
be found in an address delivered by the writer at the joint
state assembly of the Wisconsin Archeological Society held
at Manitowoc and Two Rivers, August 23-24, 1912, and an
account of which is published in the Wisconsin Archeologist
(V. 11, No. 3).
On Aug. 8, 1909, the Manitowoc County Historical
society dedicated a monument to his memory at Manitowoc
Rapids in the presence of an assemblage of four or five
thousand appreciative spectators. Had our chief's lot been
cast in more stirring times, or on more historic soil, his
name might today be far better known.
7. County House Hill Camp Site. This hill is a
natural circular mound about 600 feet in diameter, or of
about the size of an ordinary city block, located in the middle
of the village of Manitowoc Rapids, upon which were, up
to 1852, located the primitive log court house and adjoining
Manitowoc Rapids
Plate 2
1. County House Hill Site
2. Provision Caches
3. "Indian Flats" Planting Ground
4. Implement Cache
5. Indian Cemetery
6. North West Fur Co. Post, 1795
12.
Indian Hill Site and Cemetery
Wampum Monument
Wampum's Grave
Winke Garden Beds
Braunel Cemetery
Gravel Hill Burials
Indian Remains in Manitowoc County 135
jail, both of which were destroyed by fire in that year.
The mound then had a fairly uniform elevation of some
twenty feet. Its outlines are still distinct, although the
west half is being gradually removed it having now degener-
ated into a gravel pit. The Green Bay road divides it
into two equal halves. The east half is still under cultiva-
tion. Flint arrows, numerous chips, and numbers of very
thick, coarse, granite-tempered potsherds can always be
found on this site. On its eastern edge are still plainly
visible about a dozen good-sized provision caches, some
of these being ten feet in diameter.
In April, 1909, Alfred Lindholm, while hauling ground
from the eastern declivity accidentally disturbed a cache,
exposing several bushels of carbonized acorns. A few
days later the author and Mr. Charles E. Brown examined
the site of this provision pit, but found it possible to pre-
serve but a few specimens of the acorns.
While engaged in road work some workmen found on the
western edge of the hill an implement cache or hoard con-
sisting of one large yellow quartzite knife now in the posses-
sion of Mr. George Schuette, another now in the Hamilton
collection, and about fifteen smaller flint blades. This cache
was enclosed in black humus the surrounding soil being
gravelly.
8. Indian Hill Camp Site and Cemetery. To the
east and northeast of the village is a high bluff overlooking
the river. Upon its top is a level plateau. In the woods
along this declivity and this plateau was the favorite
camping ground of the Indians. Here their wigwams were
most numerous. Upon the plateau were some forty graves
protected in the characteristic Chippewa fashion. This was
the largest of a number of burial places in this vicinity.
The bones when plowed up were collected and utilized to
fertilize the newly planted trees in an extensive orchard
on the present farm. Many implements were found there
including a fine disk pipe, numerous stone axes and celts,
and, it is said, some bones notched and otherwise orna-
mented. The latter now unfortunately lost.
9. Indian Flats Planting Ground and Cemetery.
The extensive low, rich "bottoms" between the bluffs and
136 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 4
the Manitowoc river were locally known as the "Indian
Flats." All along the river were aboriginal planting grounds
and corn fields. No more ideal place for primitive agri-
culture could be found anywhere. A small burying ground
was located close to the west shore of the river, from which
in earlier years physicians from Manitowoc obtained their
office skeletons.
10. Winke Garden Beds. On the farm of Fred Winke
(S. W. i of the S. E. i of Sec. 23) there were still to be seen
as late as 1850 about five acres of garden beds on the alluvial
flats along the river. This information is given on the
authority of Mr. Hiram Jackson, the oldest living resident
hereabouts, and Mr. George La Count, now of San Fran-
cisco. The latter at that time lived with his father on this
farm, and was a playmate of Chaiconda and Mekosh, sons
of Chief Wampum. The "beds" were in 1850 still plainly
discernible, although no longer cultivated, and goodsized
timber was growing upon them. On a neighboring island
in the river was ^ sulphur spring largely patronized because
of its supposed medical virtues.
11. Winke Burials. Several hundred yards to the
southeast, on the same farm, the very badly decayed bones
of at least two skeletons were found in June 1913, in a
gravel pit. As usual the find was heralded in the local
papers, with embellishments, viz., that the remains were
associated with numerous implements of copper and stone.
No articles of any kind were found.
12. Braunel Cemetery. In the SW. J of the SE. J
of Section 23, between the highway and block 19 of the
village, on the farm of H. Braunel, are two lots now belong-
ing to Mrs. Jul. Borcherdt which are forever reserved for
use as a cemetery. This plot, the oldest cemetery of the
county, is now in a sad state of decay, the few remaining
grave stones having almost all fallen or been broken. It
was used before the 50's, and it is said that both whites
and Indians were buried here indiscriminately. It has not
been used for many years, and although fenced off is now
in a very neglected condition.
13. Wa'mpuim's Grave. This is also located on Mr.
Winke's land, on the highest crest on the north bank of
Quarry Group
Plate 3
Indian Remains in Manitowoc County 137
the river, several hundred yards west of the Braunel cemetery
and close to an old abandoned logging road. It is a quarter
of a mile southwest of the location of the monument erected
to his memory. This grave, and others purporting to be
his, have on various occasions been disturbed. In 1851,
three prominent citizens of Manitowoc, removed therefrom
the skull and thigh bones, which were to be utilized in the
gruesome initiation ceremonies of a well known secret
society organized at that time. One of these was Charles
Musson, after whom Dr. Lapham named a group of mounds
in Manitowoc. On this becoming known the indignation
of the Indians was great and dire threats were made pro-
ducing consternation among the settlers. Quiet was speed-
ily restored when the contents of the graves were returned.
14. Wampum's Monument. On a high bluff situ-
ated at the junction of Washington and King streets, otfer-
ing a magnificent view of the picturesque region below,
is another cemetery. Here too the Indian graves have
been rifled by the thoughtless and curious who found
saddles, hunting bags, rings, coins and many articles of
Indian trade, all of which are now scattered and lost. Al-
though not the actual last resting place of Wampum, because
of its central situation near a much frequented public high-
way, and because of its scenic advantages the monument to
his memory, donated by the public spirited Mr. Nic. Ketten-
hofen, and dedicated by the Manitowoc County Historical
Association was placed here, Aug. 8, 1912. Representa-
tives of the Wisconsin Historical Society and Wisconsin
Archeological Society participated in the dedication.
15. Cholera Graves. Cholera prevailed all over the
Northwest in 1850. A band of Indians trading at Col.
Peleg Glover's, an Indian trader of Manitowoc who spoke
Chippewa, having received news of many sudden deaths
among the Two Rivers Ottawa, became panic striken and
fled precipitately to Rapids and westward to their homes
at the Forks of the Manitowoc river. On the river road
trail in Section 23, near the farm house of Mr. Oliver C.
Hubbard, one Indian was stricken with the disease. His
wife and infant remained with him. Both the Indian and
infant died before dawn and were buried in a ravine close
138 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 4
to the road. The faithful squaw followed her people the
next day. What became of her is not known.
16. Thiebeau's Cabin. In block 10, on Washington
Street, stood Pat Thiebeau's hut, dismantled about fifteen
years ago. He was a French Canadian who married a
Brothertown Indian woman, both well known characters.
He was born in 1830, arriving with the earliest settlers in
his boyhood. He acted as go-between on many occasions
when trouble was impending between the settlers, and
Indians, notably when Chief Wampum's grave was opened,
and during the Indian scare of 1862. At other times he
prevented boys from disturbing Indian graves by threaten-
ing them with the vengeance of the natives. A trap and
other articles from his hut are in the State Historical Mus-
eum.
17. Wampu'in's Cabin. In a reply to a letter of in-
quiry addressed to Benjamin Y. Mexico of Keshena, the
youngest of the chief's sons, he stated, that "their home
was somewhere between Clark's Mills and the Rapids."
According to local tradition it was situated on the farm of
Edward Hein (W. J of the NW. J of Section 19), in a ravine
near the river. The log cabin, about ten feet square, was
dismantled and burned in 1905, at which time it was a
crumbling, mouldy ruin.
18. Pleuss Caches. Two miles south of this place,
on the farm of Frank Pleuss (SE. J of the SE. i of Section
30) are about a dozen cache pits. Three of these were
explored by Mr. Pleuss, who found in them two sticks
sharpened at the end and driven into the ground. Similar
sticks have been found in rice threshing pits in this state.
As the pits on the Pleuss place were on the edge of a swamp
with no wild rice in the vicinity, they must have been em-
ployed for another purpose, perhaps serving for the storing
of corn or other provisions.
18a. Hamernick Implement Cache. In the NW.
J of the SE. i of Section 10, Mr. John Hamernik, in 1905,
unearthed a cache of implements from beneath a stump.
It consisted of a steel hunting knife with a horn handle,
the whole 9 J inches long, together with twelve leaf-shaped
Old Solomon
Plate 4
Indian Remains in Manitowoc County 139
flint blades. These are from If to 2| inches in length.
Six are in the author's possession. This cache is unique
in that a modern trade knife was found with stone imple-
ments indicating that the deposit was a recent one.
Cato Township
19. Cato Mounds. Four miles up the river from Wam-
pum's cabin are two tumuli. These were located by Dr.
A. Gerend of Cato, in September 1909. They are on land
belonging to Frank Pischel, in the SW. J of the SW. J of
Section 22, half a mile north of Clark's Mills. Both are
just east of the main road leading from Cato to Clark's
Mills and just north of a bayou of the river. They are
conical in form, 25 feet in diameter and from 1| to 2 feet
in height. These mounds were excavated by Dr. Gerend,
with wholly negative results.
20. Clark's Mills Camp Site and Cemetery. A half
mile west of these mounds, on a level stretch of highland
on the north bank of the river, just opposite the farm house
of William Wiegert (SE. | of Section 21) was formerly an
Indian camp site and burial ground. Numerous flint arrow
points and chips, fragmentary clay pipes, potsherds and
human bones have been found on the surface of the soil.
The grave of a child was disturbed by the plow, in 1903.
Aged pioneers still remember the coming of the Indians to
this place in the spring and their leaving in the late fall.
Mr. William Morgan, town chairman, has a small but inter-
esting collection from this vicinity including a large orna-
mented knife made of hoop iron, a very much corroded
copper spearpoint and a number of stone axes and celts.
21. Quitos' Camp Site and Planting Ground. This
site is located one mile further west, on the alluvial flats
on the north bank of the river, at a place called the Upper
Falls, now Cato Falls. The Niagara limestone rocks here
form a narrow gorge, which was a famous fishing place
particularly for the spearing of fish. Quitos was a well-
known Pottawatomie Indian.
140 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14. No. 4
22. Erickson Camp Site. Just west of this place, in
Section 31, is a large spring, about which numbers of pot-
tery fragments were found by Mr. Frank Hammond, It
is on the farm of 0. K. Erickson. Mrs. Hammond has a
collection of one hundred or more Indian implements found
in this vicinity.
Rockland Township
23. Quarry Group. These mounds were located on
land owned by Mr. Knut H. Thompson (NE. J of the NE.
i of Section 36), about one half mile north of Quarry
P. 0. Of this fine group, situated on the north slope of
the Manitowoc river, only indistinct remnants are now
visible, the ground having been plowed annually since 1904.
An illustration of this group is given in Plate 3.
Mr. W. A. Titus, one of the owners of the near-by quarries,
reported to the Wisconsin Archeological Society in 1912,
that be believed he had found additional mounds close by.
Upon investigation of the locality by the writer and Dr.
Gerend no other mounds were found and it was concluded
that owing to their almost total obliteration by the plow
the above group had been mistaken for an unrecorded one.
The outlines of the mounds can still be made out as they
appear to have been constructed of gravelly soil carried
from the river bank, their different coloring betraying their
locations on the surrounding soil for a considerable distance.
Mr. Joseph Rappel called the writer's attention to this
fine group in October, 1903, at which time a survey was
made. Four of the five mounds were linear in form and
the fifth, on the highest level, was a turtle effigy.
No. 1, the linear nearest the bank of the Manitowoc
river and from which it is separated by a distance of 235
feet was 60 feet long and 14 feet in width at its widest part.
It was situated about 133 feet west of the line separating
Knut Thompson's from T. Halverson's land. Its direction
was nearly north and south. Its height at its rounded
extremity was 2| feet from which point it tapered almost
imperceptibly to the level of the surrounding soil.
Fifty feet north of this mound was the apex of another
linear (No. 2) running in a northwest direction. This
mound was 76 feet long, 14 feet wide and 2^ feet high.
Indian Remains in Manitowoc County 141
Linear mound No. 3 was 28 feet southwest 'of the apex
of No. 2 and about midway between it and No. 1. Its
direction was east and west and it was of about the same
size as No. 1.
Forty feet from the apex of No. 2 was situated hnear
mound No. 4. This mound was 62 feet in length, 14 feet
in width near its rounded extremity and 2| feet high. Its
direction was east and west. .
The turtle efTigy, elevated about 25 feet above the level
of linear mound No. 1, was located 46 feet north of No. 4.
Its length was 76 feet and its height 3i feet. Its general
direction was north. This effigy had the distinction of
being the only animal-shaped Indian earthwork within
the limits of the Manitowoc County. Its destruction is
therefore greatly to be regretted.
Old settlers state that in the early 50's this region w^s
overrun by roaming bands of Pottawatomies. These
Indians explained the presence of these mounds by stating
that there "had been a big battle" here and that these were
the burial places of the slain, a common misconception
of the purpose of such earthworks.
24. Carroll Grave. A solitary Indian grave in the
rear of the house of James Carroll, in the NE. i of Section
33, was visited at various times and as late as the 90's, by
a son of the deceased.
24a. Haese Camp Site. An Indian camp was once
located on the John Haese farm (NE. J of Section 3), just
west of Reedsville, near a large spring on the trail leading
from Reedsville to the Forks of the Manitowoc river.
Eaton Township
25. Island Village Site. A comparatively large Indian
population made their homes in the region about the Mani-
towoc-Calumet County line at the forks of the Manitowoc
river about eight miles west of the Quarry mounds, as well
as along its North and South forks. These latter sites are
located mostly in Calumet County. The village site to be
described, but one mile south of the forks, is on the farm
of John Draheim in Section 6. From very early times this
142 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 4
site was known as the "Island Indian Village" not because
it was situated on an island, but because of the fact that
this perfectly level tract of land of some thirty or forty
acres, is surrounded on the west and south by the river,
and on the north and east by a dense swamp of black ash,
swamp elm and tamarack trees, which during the annual
spring inundations was covered deep with water, leaving
the central elevation high and dry, some twenty feet above
the water. There is a gentle slope toward the river, both
banks between the slope and river, at some places several
hundred feet wide, being completely covered with a luxur-
iant growth of wild rice, making an ideal home for water
fowl, while the river offered an ample supply of fish, and
opportunities for trapping.
A large part of the tract was utilized as a planting ground
where corn, beans, pumpkins and squash were grown by
the Indians long before the arrival of settlers. The soil
is somewhat sandy, at places gravelly with but a single
tree, a tall elm upon it. It has been under cultivation
ever since the Indians abandoned this vicinity, in 1864.
In an article under the caption "Career of a Princess," a
correspondent published in the Evening Wisconsin of Feb.
23, 1904, a biography of Mrs. Cato Stanton, a Narragansett
woman, the founder of Chilton, wherein the statement is
made, that at the time of the Indian scare in 1862, she
paddled in a canoe seven miles down the river from Hayton
to warn the Pottawatomie living here of the danger of leav-
ing their homes.
Near the middle of this site was the cemetery, pioneers
still living having witnessed the ceremonies attending bur-
ials, particularly that of a prominent hunter who was
killed by a bear. A rude pictorial history was carved upon
a cedar slab at the foot of the grave, a sort of diminutive
totem pole showing seven dead bears one above the other,
a dead man with a bear stooping over his prostrate form
at the bottom, illustrating the manner of his death.
Another characteristic incident of aboriginal customs is
well remembered. One fall, when a band of natives were
proceeding on a journey to the North, it was found that an
aged and infirm woman was unable to follows A consulta-
tion was held, after which her son struck her from behind
Bone and Shell Implements
Louis Falge Collection
Plate 5
Indian Remains in Manitowoc County 143
with a club, killing her instantly. The Indians then returned
to this burying ground, gave her a proper burial with attend-
ant ceremonies, and once more proceeded on their journey.
Fragments of bones, numerous phalanges and teeth are
found on the surface of the land, and fresh ones being plowed
up with each furrow turned, indicating that the burials
must have been numerous. No fire places or refuse heaps
have been found, presumably because the site has been
so long under cultivation.
Flint chips and fragments are exceedingly common and
potsherds are few in number. One single Sunday after-
noon's collecting at this place by the writer and his family
resulted in the finding of fifty-five arrow and spearheads, two
celts, some hammer-stones, two rolled copper beads, and
trade materials, such as clay-pipe bowls, fragments of colored
earthenware, pieces of sheet iron, the handle of a spoon,
a perforated thimble, bullets, shot, etc. From the owner
of the land were purchased about 200 flint implements, two
copper bracelets and a quantity of trade beads. At least
a dozen copper implements have been found here, all of
them spearpoints and knives. Mr. John Woodcock has
a fine collection made from this site and Miss Kate Doolin,
a smaller one. Bayonets, gun barrels, gun rods, fire steels,
traps, bullet moulds, kettles, and other articles are still
occasionally found in the swamp or river during low water.
Several trails led to this place, which was in reality a con-
tinuation of the Forks village site.
Maple Grove Township
26. Mud Creek Camp Site. On the banks of Mud
creek, a tributary of the Manitowoc river, two miles north
of Reedsville, on the farm of Daniel Jantz (NE. i of the
SW. J Section 23), was formerly the location of a well-known
camp site, frequented by the Indians up to 1866. From a
burial ground on this site, a physician from a neighboring
village, exhumed the skeleton of three adults and two chil-
dren. The bones and considerable trade material were
carried away, but as usual, are now scattered and lost.
Two cache pits at this place were still distinct in 1906.
144 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 4
Well known trails led northward from here to Depere,
southward to Reedsville and then westward to the Haese
camp site and to the Forks village; a third trail eastward
to the Branch river camp site.
Franklin Township
27. Mulcahy Caches. • On the farm of Michael Mul-
cahy (SE. i of the NW. i of Section 19) 300 yards north
of the country road, on a rise of ground on land always
used for pasturing purposes, are twelve pits supposed to
have been provision caches, each from 6 to 9 feet in diameter,
and placed at various distances from each other. All are
of circular form, 2 to 3 feet deep and still very distinct.
The ground is stony and gravelly. In former days a small
Indian camp was always to be found across the road, to the
south, in the woods of Mr. Thos. Watt. Each pit is sur-
rounded by a distinct ridge, which doubtless consists of
materials thrown out in their digging.
28. Branch River Camp Site. This was located two
miles to the east on the trail from the site just described,
in Section 17. There was constant communication between
the inhabitants of this camp and that at Mud Creek. Both
camps were well known to the early pioneers. Consider-
able barter was indulged in between the local whites and
Indians in maple sugar, venison, tallow, baskets, and even
cranberries from the Forks village, in exchange for flour,
pork and other provisions. As store tobacco was very
expensive, the settlers were compelled to raise their own
crop, also disposing of a part of this to the natives. Mr.
Edward Brown, who settled here in 1855, claims that many
Indians died here of the small-pox, but none of them were
buried here. The Indians left here in 1869. That year
only six tents, or tonical wigwams were occupied. The
trail continued from this site to the present village of Branch.
It united with the Green Bay trail three miles north of
Rapids.
28a. Mangin Fireplaces and Camp Site. In 1902,
two typical Indian fire places were still intact on Paul
Mangin's land, but the following year, on visiting the place.
Indian Remains in Manitowoc County 145
for the purpose of taking a photograph of them, both were
found to have been plowed over and all traces lost. Near one
of these the owner found a large whetstone. One of these
fireplaces was circular in shape, six feet in diameter, sixteen
large granite boulders forming the circumference. These
projected about a foot above the soil. On uncovering the
grass and rootlets, some two or three inches in thickness,
a layer of hard-baked clay was exposed; then a layer of
charcoal. Underneath as a foundation were broad flattened
stones. Among the charcoal were fragments of the leg
bones of deer, a broken clay pipe and a number of old style
square-cut nails. The other fire circle was similar in con-
struction to the one described.
Not far from these fireplaces, where a cowpath crossed
a rill flowing into the Branch river, were to be seen hun-
dreds of flint cores and flakes and a few imperfect arrows
indicating a work shop site. Mr. John Radej has a col-
lection from this locality.
28b. Pfeffer Site. Three miles down the Branch
River, on the farm of Jos. Pfeffer, in Section 27, were up to
recently located a number of fire places, in one of which was
found two copper fish hooks. All traces of these fireplaces
have now disappeared. Mr. Pfeffer has a collection of
flint implements and stone axes from this vicinity.
Kossuth Township
29. Site of Madison Murder. In the spring of 1821,
Dr. Wm. Madison, surgeon of the Third Regiment of U. S.
troops, stationed at Fort Howard, received a furlough to
visit his Kentucky home. He started on horseback, accom-
panied by two soldiers on foot on the Green Bay trail on
his way to Chicago. When a few miles north of the Rapids,
the doctor was mortally shot from ambush by Ketaukah,
a Chippewa, the whole charge lodging in the back of his
neck. One of the soldiers mounting the horse, hurriedly
returned to the Fort to summon help. A number of officers
and soldiers started at once, but found the doctor dead.
The culprit was detected and delivered over to the author-
ities. Ketaukah was taken to Detroit, the territorial
capital, duly tried and convicted, and hanged the 27th day
of December following.
146 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 4
30. Reynolds Cache. In 1899, there was found by
Mr. Reynolds, at a distance of a mile west of King's Bridge
on the north bank of the Neshoto river, a series of 34 thin
and finely flaked leaf-shaped points made of a finely mottled
white chert of excellent quality. The smallest point is
two and the largest three and one-half inches in length.
This cache is now in the collection of Mr. H. George Schuette
of Manitowoc. This cache is described by Charles E. Brown
in his article, ''Implement Caches of the Wisconsin Indians"
(Wis. Archeologist, V. 6, No. 2).
31. Hagenow Cache. Another cache of 185 leaf-
shaped blades was found beneath a stump in the SE. }
of Section 2, in about 1900. Three of these blades are in
the collection of Joseph M. Pech at Francis Creek, and
nine are in the possession of Joseph Cisler of Manitowoc.
Two Rivers City and Township
Na-na-bou-jou's Village. The first allusion to Two
Rivers is found in the diary of Samuel Robertson of the
British Sloop Felicity, doing duty on Lake Michigan. This
entry is made at Milwaukee under the date of Nov. 4, 1779.
He states that the Indians:
"Told us, that they had sent for Monsieur Fay, which
is at a place called Deux Rivers, 18 Leagues from Millwakey
to the north; he has 2 Canos of goods from the commettee,
but he said it was against his orders to go amongst them,
or they suposed so as no trader had ever wintered at that
place."
Capt. Thos. G. Anderson who traded with the Pottawa-
tomie at Milwaukee in the winter of 1804-5 states that
at one time he took an overland journey to Green Bay to
see his friend, Jacob Frank. At Two Rivers he found an
encampment of these Indians and put up at the lodge of
Chief Na-na-bou-jou, who gave him an interesting legendary
account of the origin of his tribe. (Wis. Hist. Colls., V.
IX, p. 155.)
On Sept. 20, 1832, Joshua A. Boyd was granted a license
as fur trader at Nee-sho-ti-je-wa-joc, the Chippewa name
for Two Rivers. His entire outfit consisted of goods to
Indian Remains at the Forks
Plate 6
Indian Remains in Manitowoc County 147
the value of $117.89. He never reached his destination,
being murdered by a drunken Chippewa at the mouth of
Green Bay, for refusing him credit.
Mr. H. C. Wilke, the author of a carefully prepared
short history of Two Rivers, states that:
"One of the early pioneers, whose report can be relied on,
says, that the Indians were very numerous in the village
in 1849. The Indians, in that year, had a dance on the site
of the present St. John's Lutheran church, in which no less
than 300 participated. At that time, a large number of
wigwams were found on the East Side along the banks of
the river, — on the north side, where Bartz' black-smith
shop is located, — and also on the south side, where the coal
dock is found."
Trails were numerous, but the principal one was a broad,
wcU-beaten path running north of what is now the Public
Square toward the Polish Church, from where it curved
northwest through the lots where the Hamilton cottages
are now located. In 1849, a cemetery was west of what
is now Niquette's store, at the foot of Jefferson street,
on a hill which was graded down in 1850. The foot of the
hill was a landing place for people coming on boats from
the lake. In that year and subsequently, the redmen bur-
ied their dead on a site where St. Luke's Catholic Church
now stands.
Two Rivers Village Sites
The lake shore from the mouth of Twin Rivers north-
ward for eight miles or more into the neighboring town
of Two Creeks, was for centuries practically a continuous
village site, although the evidences of occupation are more
noticeable at the mouths of the Twin Rivers, Silver and
Molasses creeks, and at the "Big Slough," than in the inter-
vening territory. With the exception of the city of Two
Rivers, this region is one long stretch of shifting sands and
sand dunes. These reach back for a mile from the shore.
With the exception of a Government light-house, a promi-
nent object for miles about, there is not a single human
habitation upon these sands. This Ught is located seven
miles north of Two Rivers and guards the shore in the
148 \yiSCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 4
vicinity of the treacherous Twin River point, the scene
of many a shipwreck.
A considerable portion of this region has now growing
upon it a fringe of second growth pine,- hemlock and cedar.
Dunes thirty feet high are here by the thousand, while
the wind swept clearings between them, form constantly
shifting hollows and ridges. The characteristic vegetation
consists of the sand and choke cherries and the wild grape.
The trailing juniper forms a thick matting over large areas.
Although it can be said that this region has been literally
combed for relics for forty years, the ever-shifting sands
constantly uncover new records of former occupation. Cores,
chips and flakes, the refuse of the manufacture of arrow
and spearpoints and knives, are found in great profusion, —
as well as an immense number of potsherds, all evidences of
the fishing industry, which here offered special opportuni-
ties to the Indians and which was undoubtedly the prime
factor in determining the location of camps along this shore.
Large implements such as axes, celts and scrapers are
now seldom found, but hand hammers and pitted stones
are numerous, as well as notched pebble net weights, occa-
sionally a heap of a score or more of these latter being
found at one place. Several fishermen, when consulted,
stated that it was a common practice among them formerly
to make and use these notched sinkers probably in imita-
tion of the Indians. Fireplace stones, and charcoal and
bones are numerous.
Articles of bone and shell, which in less porous soils soon
decay, are preserved in the sands. Bone awls, needles,
tubes, barbed harpoons, beads, pendants, bear's and boars*
tusks and teeth of other animals, jaw bones of the pickerel,
jewel stones of the sheepshead perch (now no longer found
here), heaps of clam shells, the columella of the common
conch, shells of various land snails, fragments of the cara-
pace of the turtle, bird claws, and the ordinary wampum,
bone and shell beads, are all found on these sites. Some
specimens largely obtained from this site are illustrated in
Plate 5.
Among the most valued treasures of American archeology
are aboriginal artifacts of copper. Of these Wisconsin
has furnished probably more than 75 per cent of the grand
Indian Remains in Manitowoc County 149
total of specimens. From this site an estimated number
of about one thousand specimens of these have been recov-
ered. Elsewhere in Manitowoc county finds of these imple-
ments have been but sporadic. It can be stated with con-
fidence, that no place of like extent in the world has yielded
a richer harvest in aboriginal copper implements than
this one. Arrow and spearpoints, knives, chisels, hoes,
axes, celts, spuds, gouges, and particularly smaller objects
such as drills, needles and fish-hooks are numerous. Among
the copper ornaments found there are bracelets, crescents,
gorgets, pendants, rings, and most numerous of all, rolled
beads. The presence of copper chips in certain localities
indicate that many of these implements and ornaments
were manufactured here.
These sites furnish abundant evidence of a former brisk
trade with white traders. Articles of trade origin are almost
as common as those made of stone. Trade axes, hoes,
hawks' bells, gun flints, cheap metal rings and earrings,
metal buttons, old-style eyeless fishhooks, Spanish and
American coins, modern crockery, glass beads and many
other articles too numerous to mention have been recovered
by collectors.
The Indians of Two Rivers were mostly Ottawa. There
were some Pottawatomie. This whole territory, being un-
suited for agriculture, has now been bought up by private
parties, who have organized under the name of the Two
Rivers Gun Club and have made of it a game preserve.
33. Hathaway Camp Site. On the Hathaway estate
adjoining the city to the east several important caches of
implements were discovered. About the year 1878, a
cache of fourteen hornstone blades was plowed up by Frank
Bonn, in Section 31. These were from 6 to 7 inches in
length and 2 J to 3 inches wide at the widest part. One
of these is in the H. P. Hamilton collection, the others were
disposed of and cannot now be traced. (See Wis. Archeo.
V. 6, No. 2, p. 63.) Another cache is described by Charles
E. Brown:
"An interesting cache consists of a copper knife, three
slender spear points of unusual form, and five perforators,
three of which are provided with a shoulder possibly to
prevent their slipping too far into the wooden haft in which
150 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14. No. 4
they were probably mounted. The knife measures 8 3-4
inches in length and is of a common Wisconsin type. The
larger of the three points has its blade near the socket
ornamented with nine incisions, an interesting and unusual
feature. This hoard was obtained at the site of a sand
dune in March, 1900. The pieces lay in a position parallel
to each other when found exposed by the elements. At
what depth they may have originally been deposited it is
of course impossible to state." (See Records of the Past
March, 1905, fig. 8 and Wis. Archeo., v. 6, No. 2, p. 67.)
On June 15, 1893 a burial mound on the Hathaway estate
was opened by John and Joseph Gagnon. It contained five
or six skeletons and two copper implements, the latter
being now in the possession of Mr. Hamilton. The skeletons
were sent to the Smithsonian Institution.
34. Silver Creek Camp Site. At the mouth of Silver
Creek is a much smaller camp site, where trade beads in
particular are very common. Potsherds and flint chips
and fragments are strewn over the sands.
35. Molasses Creek Camp Site. This is one of the
most important of the Two Rivers series of Indian camp
sites.
*Tn the Hamilton collection is a set of implements which,
although found in association with human remains and
therefore not properly to be considered a cache, is made up
largely of implements of the cache type. It was found in
1898 four miles north of Two Rivers, and a half mile from
the mouth of Molasses Creek. The implements lay upon
the sandy soil having been partly exposed by the wind.
Near them were fragments of human bones, which appeared
to have been originally covered with clay, or stained by an
ochreous deposit, in which they had long reposed. Several
of the flints had been stained a reddish brown color possibly
through the same agency. This find consisted of a fine
flint knife 10 1-2 inches long, 170 leaf-shaped implements
and arrow points, a stone bead, a copper spear exhibiting
evidence of cloth wrapping, 64 small copper beads, and a
necklace of 46 large copper beads." (Records of the Past
March, 1905, fig. 10, and Wis. Archeo., v. 6, No. 2. p. 69, pi. 8.)
An additional large bead and four small ones and one
leaf-shaped flint probably belonging to this hoard were
pick*^d up by the writer on the spot where the others were
Fluted Stone Axe
H. Geo. Schuette Collection
Plate 7
Indian Remains in Manitowoc County 151
found. Numerous small bones, copper stained, were also
found.
It is strange that no burial ground is associated with this
once populous village site. Solitary graves are frequently
found. Neither have the ordinary refuse heaps been found.
There is evidence of only one large provision cache. Stones
from fireplaces are extremely numerous, being scattered
about everywhere by the hundred.
About two miles from the Twin Rivers Point light, and
seven miles north of the city, at a point where what is known
as "the Big Slough" enters the lake, is one of the largest
of the aboriginal camp sites.
This Big Slough is evidently an old river bed and there is
no doubt but that a large Indian village was located here
in Stone Age times."
A trail connecting all these sites north of Two Rivers
and extending further north once hugged the lake shore.
It is now known as the Sandy Bay road.
36. Neshoto Mounds. In a "Catalogue of Prehistoric
Works" published by the American Bureau of Ethnology,
in 1891, Rev. Stephen D. Peet is credited with having
reported the presence of a group of mounds "near Neshota,
T. 20, R. 24E." Diligent search and inquiry by the writer
have failed to discover the existence of any such group.
Two Creeks Township
37. Two Creeks Village Site. This is in reality a
continuation of the Two Rivers sites. It is located in
section 31, continuing one mile north from the town line.
This appears to be the northern limit of aboriginal occupa-
tion. Sand dunes are wanting or few. The only visit
made by the writer to this locality, in May, 1911, resulted
in the finding of a human skeleton, three notched sinkers,
a few arrowpoints and some good sized potsherds. A Mr.
Frosch has a small collection of grooved axes, a fluted axe,
three celts, a few choice fragments of pottery including a
unique sherd with a handle, a stone hemisphere, a number
of ordinary flints, some beads, a copper fishhook, and various
other articles all picked up here. Mr. Hy. Taylor also
has a collection.
152 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol 14, No. 4
38. Jean Vieau's Landing Place. At Two Creeks
village three miles further north is the site of the landing
place of Jean Vieau, in 1795. Proceeding to Jambo Creek
he established there a trading post of the Northwest Fur
Co. Returning to Two Creeks the party coasted along the
shore, entered the Manitowoc river and organized another
post at the Rapids, as already stated. Tw^o Creeks was
doubtless the supply harbor for the trading posts in this
region.
. Mishicott Township
39. Chandelle's Village. Mr. M. Hale Smith of
Brillion remembers when a boy in the early 60's to have visited
an Indian village and corn field on the Mishicott river. Judge
J. S. Anderson mentions "Chandelle", a man of sour temper
and ugly disposition, to have been the leader of this band.
This encampment extended into the neighboring town of
Carlton, in Kewaunee county. From an Indian grave
in Carlton was obtained a silver John Quincy Adams peace
medal, now in the State Historical Museum. It bears the
date 1825. This medal is described in the Wisconsin
Archeologist (V. 14, No. 1, p. 35.)
The late Mr. J. H. Terens of Mishicott had in his museum
a considerable number of stone and metal implements found
on Indian sites in Mishicott and adjoining townships. After
his death these were sold and scattered. Fifty copper
implements which he possessed were acquired by the Logan
Museum of Beloit College.
Gibson Township
40. Jambo Creek Trading Post. This was located
in section 27 or 28 of this township. Andrew J. Vieau, Sr.,
gave the following account of the establishment of this post
by his father, Jacques Vieau, who came to Mackinaw, from
Montreal, in 1793, as a voyageur for the Northwest Fur
Company:
"In 1795, he was appointed as one of the company's
agents, being sent out with a supply of goods to explore
and establish posts on the west shore of Lake Michigan.
The goods were contained in a large Mackinaw boat, heavily
Indian Remains in Manitowoc County 153
loaded and manned by twelve men. He and his family ...
followed in a large bark canoe, in which was also stored the
camp equipage.
"The expedition started from Mackinaw in July. The
first important camping place, furnishing a good harbor,
was where Kewaunee is now situated. My father, I am
told, established a jack-knife post near there, to open the
trade and left a man in charge of it. Father was called
Jean Beau by the Indians, and the creek upon which his
post was situated, was called Jean Beau Creek by the
Ottawas. [Now corrupted to Jambo Greek on the maps.]
Several Ottawas and Chippewas have told me that he
estabhshed such a post there and have described the lo-
cation to me, as being on the north side of the creek, which
is a tributary of the [North East] Twin river, and about
nine miles from Lake Michigan." (Wis. Hist. Colls., v. xi,
pp. 219-221.)
41. Smith Planting Ground. This trading post, in
the writer's opinion, must have been located near the so-
called "Smith Planting Ground," in section 28, where was
located one of the best known Indian camping grounds in
Manitowoc county. A very full and interesting account of
it is given by Mr. M. Hale Smith in a letter published in the
Manitowoc Pilot of April 7, 1904. His father settled there
in 1855.
"The area cultivated by the Indians was fifteen acres,
on both sides of the Neshoto river. At the time we arrived
this area had dwindled to six acres, but corn hills were
plainly visible for many years. Some of the white settlers
plowed the ground, while the squaws planted the corn and
potatoes. Though the soil was very rich, owing to poor
cultivation the crops were not very abundant.
"The corn was prepared for use by pounding it into
meal, in holes cut into white oak logs which had been felled.
The pestle of wood resembled a possing stick used by some
people for pounding clothes while washing. They also
used white ilour to some extent, the dough being baked in
a Dutch oven, in a hole in the ground, with coals under and
above it.
"Their funerals, I remember quite well, more so as they
served as occasions when we children came in for a goodly
share of corn, which was liberally served on such occasions,
I remember going with my mother to offer help on the
death of a papoose and their asking us to partake of some
roast dog, one of which had been roasted entire. A white
neighbor made the coffin of rough lumber, but on no occasion
did I see any of their personal effects placed in the coffin.
154 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 4
"On one occasion, I saw a small baby buried, its coffin
being formed of two strips of bark. This was in the winter
and they had brought the body on a pony some eight or
ten miles from their winter home on the Mishicott river,
where they also had a planting ground. I remember the
party remained at our house all night, sleeping on the floor
with their feet toward the large fireplace which was one of
the chief comforts of our pioneer home.
"They were generally good neighbors, except when they
obtained whiskey.
"The wigwams were usually of bark peeled from cedar
trees. The best one, I remember, was about 12 x 18 feet,
with side walls 6 feet high, and a hole in the ridge of the
roof by which the smoke escaped. About three sides of the
room was built a sort of a divan, about four feet wide, and
about one-half foot from the ground. In the center was the
fire, and a blanket formed the door, which faced the east.
Across the door and across the entire front, was built a
sort of porch reached by steps notched in a log. Here the
men spent many hours sunning themselves.
"Among the Indians, I remember best, were Ketoos,
a very old man, Skee-sicks, Shik-na-kee-sik, — one whom we
called 'the Doctor,' and Min-i-ni-quet. One, Dan, had a
daughter whose name was Mi-on-ton-o-mo-quah.
"The burying ground was a natural knoll some distance
from the river. The graves were in rows side by side, with
cedar bark like a roof over each. A round stake about
3 feet high stood at the head of each grave. On the stake
certain marks were painted in red. On part of this knoll
were several excavations about six feet deep and five feet
in diameter. These were lined with bark and were used to
store bags of corn and other produce. The last one to be
buried here in 1870, was a young Indian killed by an acci-
dental discharge of his gun. There was much ceremony at
the grave about a week after the burial. They split cedar
shakes for a covering over the grave. A fence of rails was
placed around it with the usual red painted stake at one end.
Beneath the cedar covering a package of tobacco was placed.
"Of household utensils they had few and no pottery of
their own make. Their most desirable possessions in my
youthful eyes were their wooden spoons of many shapes
and sizes. The squaws made coarse thread of the inner
bark of the bass wood. This was rolled and twisted between
the palm of the hand and the lower part of the leg near the
ankle as they sat on the ground. From this cord several
articles were woven, especially the bags for holding corn.
"Mats were woven of a sort of reed dyed and arranged
in tasteful patterns. These reeds were brought from the
lake shore where they went to fish."
' 17 >l
Bartz Group
Plate 8
Indian Remains in Manitowoc County 155
There were twenty-four graves on the above mentioned
knoll. Placed near these were twelve or more caches.
42. Darius Peck Cemetery. A quarter of a mile
north of the foregoing on land of Darius Peck, in the S. W. J
of the N. E. J of section 28, is a row of ten Indian graves
placed in an east and west direction.
43. Huletz Cemetery. A third cemetery is in the N. E.
I of the N. W. i section 33, on the, farm of Stephen Huletz.
There are ten graves arranged in three groups, one of three
graves, — a second of three graves, and a third of four graves.
All are in the woods. The graves in these three burial
places have all been exhumed and rifled of their contents
by irresponsible parties.
Coopertown Township
44. Coopertown Village Site. In the N. E. { of
section 28, on the farm of Frank Wanish, was once an
Indian village. It was situated on rolling ground at some
distance from any lake or water course, a rather unusual
site for an Indian village. There was, however, on a hill-
side in this vicinity a spring having a good flow of water.
This, in all probability, prompted the choice of this location.
As this township is very hilly and wells of necessity of
considerable depth, even the old settlers resorted to this
well-known spring, now almost dry.
On another hillock was the Indian burying ground, the
last burial, that of a man, being made in 1855.
Newton Township
45. Northeim Site. At the mouth of Pine creek, in
Section 36, where now is situated the village of Northeim
are many evidences of former Indian occupation. Game
Warden John Egan, a former school teacher of that neighbor-
hood, has a cabinet of 300 stone implements from this
locality, which is on the lake shore trail from Manitowoc to
Centerville and Sheboygan.
156 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST , Vol. 14, No. 4
45. Stuempges Lake Site. This town with its many
fine lakes and large creeks offered ideal Indian camping
places. Future investigations may result in the discovery
of some of these.
About the shores of Stuempges Lake, a number of copper
implements have been found, among them a very fine large
axe.
«
46. Waaks Lake Site. About Waak's Lake (S. W. J
Sec. 16) was located a camp site. A number of fireplaces
were here plowed over, a few years ago.
Centerville Township
47. Mill Mound. This was located on a wooded bluff
in the NE. J of the SE. } of Section 15, at a distance of a
quarter of a mile from Lake Michigan and the same distance
from Fisher Creek. It was explored in 1897 by Mr. Albert Mill,
on whose land it was, with the assistance of Louis Ungrodt,
a school teacher. Its height was seven feet and its circum-
ference forty-five feet. It was constructed entirely of yellow
sand. Seven skeletons were found in this tumulus, all
being buried in "a sitting posture," on two different
levels, — four at a depth of five feet and three only one and
one-half feet below the surface. The mound appeared to
have been built on a foundation of charcoal and ashes
Besides wampum beads, the only implements found were a
small copper ax, now in the possession of Dr. A. R. Wittman
of Merrill, and a one hole slate gorget. The latter was
5 inches long and IJ inches wide. It was broken in the
excavating and afterwards lost. The bones were again
buried, but later clandestinely removed by Sheboygan
parties. On the top of this mound was the decayed stump
of a beech, 14 inches in diameter.
Mr. Mill, since removed to the Pacific coast, was in 1906
the possessor of a fairly large collection of archaeological
material gathered from this vicinity, including a fine large
catlinite pipe now in the Hamilton collection, and a number
of copper implements.
Mr. Hugo Schurrer of Centerville village has also assembled
several hundred implements, many from about the site of the
Indian Remains in Manitowoc County 157
Mill mound. He states that recently eight graves were
opened n^ar the former site of the mound, and many articles
found.
43. Main Street Grave. In the spring of 1915, a
grave was disinterred at the foot of Main Street near the
lake shore. In it there was found a skeleton and a small
catlinite pipe. A number of other graves are reported to
have been opened in this locality by various parties.
Meeme and Liberty Townships
In these two townships no systematic search for archeolog-
ical sites has been undertaken, and no records of Indian
occupation have been reported.
Schleswig Township
49-50. Kiel Mounds. Mr. Geo. W. Wolff of Elkhart
Lake reports that there formerly existed a few scattering
conical and linear mounds in section 29. A group now
leveled, was formerly located on the north line of the NE,
I of section 32, near the Sheboygan river, about opposite
the village of Kiel. Their existence could not be verified
by the author.
Dr. A. R. Wittman of Merrill, formerly a resident, has in
his collection eighteen copper implements, all collected about
Kiel.
51. Solomon's Village. The Indians roaming over
this and adjoining townships were mainly Chippewa. Old
Solomon, an Ottawa, w as a well known character in the south-
western part of Manitowoc county, Sheboygan county and
the region along the Fond du Lac river to Milwaukee, which
he frequently followed on foot or in his dugout. He was
well known to many of the leading Milwaukee merchants,
who arranged with a local hotelkeeper to feed and care for
him and those with him when in that city. Mr. Chauncey
Simonds of the old East Water street firm of clothiers, from
whom he frequently purchased cloth, often told of how very
particular he was to get the proper quality, always making
158 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 4
his own selections from their stock. He usually had other
Indians with him, but he did the trading for the party.
When in Milwaukee he never failed to visit the Pabst
brewery. He died at Keshena, on the Menominee reserva-
tion, in 1879. His son Pin was also well known.
52. Mensqua's Village. Interspersed among the
Chippewas were some Menominees under Mensqua, who had
a camp in Rhine township, Sheboygan county, not far
from Kiel.
The Forks
See Plate 6
The Indians inhabiting the region about "the Forks"
of the Manitowoc river, and stretching for many miles
up both of its branches although largely located in the neigh-
boring county of Calumet, were yet closely allied by kin
with the aboriginal inhabitants of the two other large vil-
lages at the Rapids and Two Rivers. At the time of the
arrival of the first white settlers, in the late thirties all of
these red men acknowledged the leadership of Chief Mexico.
In section 36 of Rantoul township, the north and south
forks of the Manitowoc river unite to form the main stream.
For miles along the river and its tributaries both banks
are lined with extensive marshes with large beds of wild
rice. The region locally known as "the Rips" was formerly
famous as a resort of wild ducks and other water fowl.
The more elevated portions of this picturesque region for
centuries harbored a contented numerous Indian popula-
tion. To this day numerous evidences of aboriginal art
and culture, such as conical, oval, linear and effigy mounds,
caches, garden beds, plots of corn hills, cemeteries and
other evidences may be seen. From the camp sites a large
number of interesting artifacts fashioned from stone, copper,
bone and other materials, have been collected. Up to
very recent times sunken dugouts and canoes were to be
seen in the bed of the river, and wooden and birchbark
receptacles, used in the making of maple sugar, in the
adjoining woodlands. The Indian village sites occupied
particularly section 6 of Eaton, section 31 of Rockland,
^2
too
Indian Remains in Manitowoc County 159
sections 25 and 35 of Rantoul and sections 1 and 12 of
Charlestown Township. This territory was occupied by
detached groups of lodges, of large or smaller numbers,
as well as by scattered solitary habitations. The greater
number were situated on the Calumet county side of the
stream where the land was the most elevated.
The entire population of this contiguous territory is
estimated at about 500. Much travelled trails lead to
Hayton, Reedsville and to the Sheboygan river. The water
route was used eastward to Cato Falls from which point
the land trail was followed to Rapids. Pioneer settlers
still retain vivid recollections of the long, straggling line of
ponies moving over these trails, dragging t^nt poles with
perhaps a willow pannier between, well-filled with household
goods, a child or two, or a litter of puppies, and men and
women, the latter with infants strapped to their backs.
All were attired in the conventional red, green and brown
blankets, making the sexes often indistinguishable. Chil-
dren and dogs ran at the flanks of the motley procession
animating the desolate spring landscape. Thus they jour-
neyed to their regular haunts year after year, only to migrate
again in the late fall, not to the south with the birds, but
to hunt and trap in the virgin forests of the north.
During the "Indian scare" of 1862, the founder of Chil-
ton, Mrs. Cato Stanton, a Narragansett Indian, paddled
down the river from Hayton to warn her Pottawotomie
friends of the danger of leaving their homes until the excite-
ment of the panic-stricken whites should subside.
In the early 60's, owing to the rapid encroachment of
settlers at the Rapids, the Chippewa, under the leadership
of Chaiconda, eldest son of Mexico, joined the Pottawa-
tomie at this village, but owing to the same cause, the
remnants of the rapidly diminishing band left the Forks
in about the year 1869, the majority taking up their home
on the Menominee Indian reservation at Keshena, their
present home.
160 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 4
CALUMET COUNTY
Rantoul Township
53. Bartz Group. (Plate 8) This group of mounds is
located on the farm of Frank Bartz (E. J of the NE. J of
Section 36) on the gently sloping bank of the Manitowoc
river, in a grove of hickory, oak and maple trees. This
land has never been under cultivation, being in use as a
pasture. Close to the river bank is an extensive thicket
of wild crabapple and plum trees. Several hundred feet
to the west of these are still distinctly outlined hundreds
of Indian corn-hills, the size of ordinary ant-hills, placed
with no regularity of alignment. The hills are each about
a yard apart. They are known to have been in use by the
Indians in 1867, when the Bartz family settled in these
parts. Two years later ♦he natives left, never to return.
To the north of this cornfield and orchard the woodland
begins. The group of earthworks in this woodland consists
of two conical, thirteen oval and six effigy mounds. Of the
last one represents a bird and five are mounds of the well-
known panther type. The dimensions of all of the mounds
are given in the plate. The largest of the effigies is 150 feet
in length. Several of the panther effigies have curved
tails an uncommon feature in mounds of this form. Three
of these mounds extend from the woodland into a culti-
vated field. The owner of this field states that in it at
least two or three similar panther mounds have been de-
stroyed.
Several hundred feet to the east of the mounds, in what
was once a clearing about 250 yards in diameter, are indis-
tinct, but still recognizable, garden beds. These consist
of plots of various sizes closely grouped, the rows in each
plot varying in length, and running in a different direction
from those in the immediately adjoining plots. The thought
presents itself in this connection that each plot may be
that of a separate Indian family. A grouping of individual
plots in this manner would probably economize in labor
in the preparation of the land and in the care and protection
of the growing crops aftei-wards. These beds are now over-
\
U9A/i^ OX
\
f
Zahn Group
Plate 10
Indian Remains in Calumet County 161
grown with scattered oak and hickory trees from thirty to
forty years old.
The river bank at this point is the first one accessible for
a landing for canoes, for as already stated "the Rips," or
rice beds, and swamps continue eastward for eight miles
along the river. This probably accounts for the selection
of this picturesque spot by the Indians.
54. Zahn Group. (Plates 9 and 10) This group of
mounds is located in the SW. J of the NE. J of section 36,
a forty-acre field separating it from the Bartz group. It
consists of eleven mounds, which are located in an angle
formed by the union of the North branch of the Manitowoce
river with the main stream, on the highest piece of level
land to be found along the stream for miles.
The central conical mound, at present 8 feet high and
27 feet in diameter, is a very noticeable feature of the land-
scape being clearly seen from a long distance. It has long
been an object of interest to relic hunters, but was carefully
protected, until ten years ago, when Mr. Zahn, the present
owner, began removing the earth from its western side, at
least fifty or more wagon loads being removed to build
a causeway over some low ground nearby. During this
process of removal charcoal, flint chips, some thin shell-
tempered fragments of pottery, and much decayed human
bones being exposed, these plainly indicative of its being
a burial mound. It was constructed of gravelly soil carried
up from the beach of the river below. Permission was
granted to the Wisconsin Archeological Society to excavate
it, but this has not yet been done. The destruction of
this fine mound is only a matter of a few year's time.
Grouped about this central mound up to a few years
ago were ten very fine effigies of the panther type. Their
lengths were from 42 to 111 feet. These mounds were sa
closely grouped that all but the two furthest south could
be included in a three hundred foot square. For the
past three years these mounds have been under cultivation
but are not yet entirely obliterated. Their destruction
is greatly to be regretted. A short distance to the east of
these mounds is a single cache pit.
Hon. Emil Baensch and the Messrs. J. P. Hamilton
and H. George Schuette, members of the Wisconsin Arch-
162 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 4
eological Society, have also visited this locality and viewed
these interesting prehistoric remains. North of this site,
on the south side of the road leading to Potter's, the bones
of two Indian skeletons were removed from a burial place
in a gravel hill.
55. Gilbertson Group. (Plate 6) This group of In-
dian earthworks was located in the SE. J of section 36,
about a quarter of a mile south and west of the other two
groups, between the North and South Forks of the Mani-
towoc river. It consisted of eight circular mounds, and a
single linear earthwork.
The dimensions of the conical mounds were:
No. 1 Diameter 45 feet No. 5 Diameter 30 feet
No. 2 *' 39 " No. 6 *' 39 **
No. 3 " 45 '' No. 7 " 24 "
No. 4 " 45 " No. 8 " 84 "
At the time of the writer's first visit to these mounds,
in 1904, they were from IJ to 3 feet high except No. 8,
which had an elevation of 5i feet. All had then been under
cultivation for twenty years, this treatment no doubt greatly
diminishing their original height. In plowing on the edge
of mound No. 8 the horses broke through a cavity lined
with what appeared to be bark in a decaying condition.
From this mound there was obtained a fine chisel-shaped
copper axe with a flaring bit, now in the writer's collection,
and a large copper chisel. The axe is 6f inches long and
weighs 3 pounds. In the Elkey collection in the Milwaukee
Public Museum is another copper chisel obtained from
another of these mounds. Other specimens taken from
them have passed into the hands of collectors and their
present location is unknown. A village site in the vicinity
of the mounds has yielded a large number of implements.
In the writer's collection are a fluted stone axe, two gorgets,
stone celts, flint scrapers, perforators, arrow and spear-
points, a stone disk, potsherds, gun flints, a gun-stock
ornament, a piece of native copper 2i pounds in weight
and other articles.
The linear mound in this group was situated at a distance
of 300 yards southwest of the largest conical mound. This
earthen embankment was 255 feet long, from 5 to 6 feet
"mi^^]
Copper Chisel
Length 8 inches
H. P. Hamilton Collection
Plate 11
Indian Remains in Calumet County 163
wide and from IJ to 3 feet high. Thirty yards from the
upper extremity this mound was crossed by shorter embank-
ment 42 feet long and of the same width and height as the
main embankment. This earthwork is now nearly oblit-
erated.
56. Riedel Cemetery. On the farm of August Riedel
(SE} of NE. i of Section 28) about 3| miles northwest of
the Forks, was an Indian burying ground. When the family
moved on this land, in 1866, there were seven graves each
covered with bark. One day while the family were at
church, a well known collector from New Holstein with
a force of men dug up the graves and rifled them of their
contents.
Charlestown Township
57. Killsnake Cemetery. This burying ground is on
the farm of Henry Loose in the N. J of the NW. I of section
12, in Charlestown township. One night in the year 1884,
Dr. Joseph L. Barber of Chilton and a Mr. Ira Paine of
Horsehead, N. Y., exhumed seven of the graves, finding
therein, among other articles, four copper implements.
In the morning the ground near the disturbed graves was
found to be strewn with human bones and glass beads.
A polished hematite celt, in the writer's collection, was
found among these.
TRAILS
The following are some of the leading trails traversing
Manitowoc county, formerly in use by the natives. Most
of these were so well chosen that they have since become the
leading highways of the county.
The most important trail, now the Green Bay road,
connected Green Bay with Milwaukee, a distance of 114
miles, passing through Brown, Manitowoc, Sheboygan,
Ozaukee and Milwaukee counties. From Milwaukee it
continued on to Chicago. It was widened by Col. William
Hamilton, a son of Alexander Hamilton, and was also known
as the United States MiUtary road. Over this well-travelled
164 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 4
trail ammunition, provisions, cattle and other supplies were
transported from Chicago to Fort Howard, at Green Bay,
during the winter season when navigation on the lake was
closed.
Because of its accessibility on this trail the village of
Manitowoc Rapids was selected as the county seat in pref-
erence to the city of Manitowoc, but lost out eventually
to its more thrifty rival. It continues today to be the most
important road of the county, pursuing exactly the same
course that it did hundreds of years ago.
The Calumet trail, now the Calumet road, leading from
Manitowoc westward to Hayton and Chilton, was next in
importance.
The Lake Shore road follows an old trail along the shore of
Lake Michigan over the entire length of the county, from
Kewaunee county on the north, where it was better known as
the Sandy Bay trail, southward to Sheboygan county, where
it was called the Sauk trail.
The Sheboygan and Chilton plank road closely follows
another important trail in the southwestern part of the
county. Of the Forks trails one led south meeting the
Sheboygan-Chilton trail at Kiel, and another northwest to
Reedsville, then north to the Mud creek camp site and thence
northward to De Pere. From the Mud creek site a trail
ran eastward to the Branch river. This it crossed and then
ran in a southeasterly direction finally meetng the Green
Bay trail near the northern boundary of the township of
Manitowoc Rapids. There were other trails of minor
importance.
Archeological Notes 165
ARCHEOLOGICAL NOTES
During the month of October the Messrs. H. E. Cole and H. A. Smythe,
Jr. again visited Adams county completing the archeological survey of
the county begun by them in 1913. A full account of their report, which
has resulted in the discovery of a large number of unrecorded mound
groups and other evidences of early and of recent occupation is being
prepared.
At a meeting of the Society held in Milwaukee, on November 22, Vice-
President S. A. Barrett called attention to the poverty of Wisconsin
museums in Indian osteological material. Although a very large number
of Indian mounds and graves in this state have been excavated in past
years by relic-hunters and others and large numbers of human skulls
and bones recovered from them, but little of this material has been pre-
served for study purposes. This is deplorable and members and friends
of the society are requested to urge that in the future such specimens be
donated to Wisconsin museums where they may prove of future use to
archeologists.
On November 25, there occurred at Milwaukee the death of Dr. N. A.
Gray, a well known physician of that city and for years a member and
patron of the society.
Secretary Charles E. Brown delivered illustrated lectures on "the
Wisconsin Indians" at the Universalist Church at Stoughton, on Novem-
ber 28, and at the Unitarian church at Madison, on December 5, before
appreciative audiences.
Mr. W. H. C. Elwell has furnished the society with sketches of two
large groups of mounds located on the banks of the Mississippi river
and Johnson slough at distances of 4 1-2 and 5 miles south of McGregor^
Iowa. There are numerous burial and a few effigy and linear mounds in
each group.
The permanent preservation of a group of Indian earthworks located
on the Haynes farm on the north shore of Jordan lake, in Adams county,,
is receiving consideration. According to notes received from Mr. H..E.
Cole, who is acquainted with this locality, this group of mounds consists
of a series of twenty-six tumuli and three efTigies, two of which represent
birds. The mounds are in a strip of woodland. One of the bird efTigies
has a wingspread of 100 and the other of 162 feet. The interest being
taken by the owner of the land in the preservation of these prehistoric
remains is most praiseworthy.
At the request of Mrs. E. H. Van Ostrand of Madison, the Wisconsin
Archeological Society has furnished to the women's clubs in the Sixth
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 14, No. 4
district a list of the archeological remains in their respective localities,
which it is desired to protect and to mark. Among the clubs in this district
are those at Westfield, Markesan, Berlin, Green Lake, Ripon, Menasha,
Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, New Holstein and Manitowoc.
An effort is again to be made to arouse public interest at Fort Atkinson
in the preservation of the fine intaglio effigy located on the Rock river road
near the city. An effort made several years ago to accomplish this failed
because of the obduracy of the then owner of the land.
The Canadian department of mines has recently issued a pamphlet
containing two memoirs of its anthropological series, entitled "Family
Hunting Territories and Social Life of Various Algonkian Bands of the
Ottawa Valley" and "Myths and Folk-lore of the Timiskaming Algonquin
and Timagami Ottawa," both by F. G. Speck. The department has
also issued Museum Bulletin No. 19, "A Sketch of the social Organization
of the Nass River Indians," by Edward Sapir,
The death at his home in Cambridge, on August 14. 191"). of Professor
Frederick Ward Putnam, the distinguished American anthropologist for
many years prominently identified with Harvard university and other
institutions, is deeply regretted by students of anthropology and history
in every part of America.
"Fully to enumerate all of his attainments and list the titles of his
more than 400 papers and reports would be a lengthy endeavor. His
writings and biography will undoubtedly appear in many scientific
journals throughout the world.
Professor Putnam was loved by every man engaged in anthropological
pursuits. As a testimony of regard his former students and co-workers
presented him on April 16, 1909, a memorial volume of scientific papers.
This was done in honor of his seventieth birthday. The letter of presen-
tation was written by Dr. Franz Boaz." The Wisconsin Archeological
Society, of which he had been for years a member, joined with numerous
other societies and institutions in the congratulations set to him at that
time.
One of the very important acts of Professor Putnam's long and useful
career was his inspiration of the preservation of the now famous serpent
mound located in Adams county, Ohio, and now the property of that
state.
With the work of the Wisconsin Archeological Society, Professor
Putnam was in constant touch. During the year 1914 he furnished to
the society the notes of his early survey of the mounds located in Myrick
Park, La Crosse, which will make possible the complete restoration of
this group.
The Autumn number of the Quarterly Journal of the Society of Ameri-
can Indians (July-September, 1915) contains a number of interesting
articles and notes.
Archeological Notes 167
At the meeting of the executive board of the Wisconsin Archeological
Society held at Milwaukee, on October 18, Professor Charles R. Keyes
of Mt. Vernon, Iowa, and Mr. D. J. Harris, Evanston, Illinois, were
elected life members. Annual members elected were Dr. Frederick C.
Zeller, Peoria; S. K. Lathrop, Cambridge; John Egan, Manitowoc; R. K.
Coe, Whitewater, and W. A. Muth, R. J. Unruh and G. J. Beck, Mil-
waukee. At the meeting held on November 22, Hon. E. Ray Stevens
and Professor C. K. Leith, Madison, and H. .1, Reuping, Fond du Lac,
were elected to membership.
Mrs. Amy D. Winship of Madison, who has the distinction of being
the oldest lady member of the society, is entered as a student in the
University of Kansas.
The recent death of Miss Mary J. Lapham of Oconomowoc, a daughter
of Dr. Increase A. Lapham, is deplored by many friends of the Lapham
family now members of this Society.
The State Historical Society has recently published an index to volumes
I to XX of the Wisconsin Historical Collections. This volume provides
a useful key to the storehouse of historical treasures comprised in these
publications.
Vol. 14
April, 1915
No. 1
THE
WISCONSIN:
ARCHEOLOGIST
Fond du Lac County Antiquities
Wisconsin Indian Medals
PUBLISHED BY THE
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL sOCIEl \
MILWAUKEE
%Iy, 1915
THE
WISCONSIN
RGHEOLOGISl
LAC COURT imj.
FUBLiSHED'BY THT
\VISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICA.' -ME i
MILWAUKEE
Vol. 14 September, 1915
No. 3
THE
WISCONSIN
ARCHEOLOGIST
LAKE WINGRA
PUBLISHIiI> BY THE
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIE lY
MILWAUKEE
VoL 14
December, 1915
No. 4
THE
WISCONSIN
ARCHEOLOGIST
INDIAN REMAINS
IN MANITOWOC COUNTY
PUBLISHED BV THE
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
MILWAUKEE
^Vi
^^^p^tl
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
PUBLICATIONS
As a result of fifteen years of exploration and research conducted
in Wisconsin the state society is in a position to offer to students of
American archeology and Indian history a series of valuable and
■well-illustrated bulletins on the following subjects. Because of the
small number of copies printed, the number of any issue remaining
on hand is small and liable to be exhausted at any time.
REPORTS OF REGIONAL INVESTIGATIONS
Racine County
Winnebago County
Fond du Lac County
Eastern Sauk County
Wood and Portage Counties
Lake Koshkonong Region (Rock,
Jefferson and Dane Counties)
Turtle Creek Region, Rock Co.
La Courte Oreilles Region, Saw-
yer County
Upper Baraboo Valley, (Juneau
and Monroe Counties)
Washington Island, Door Co.
Lake Mendota, Dane County
Lake Waubesa, Dane County
Lake Wingra, Dane County
Pewaukee Township, Waukesha
County
Northeastern Wisconsin (Ocon-
to and Marinette Counties)
Northern Wisconsin (Marathon,
Lincoln and Oneida Counties)
Northwestern Wisconsin (St.
Croix, Polk, Burnett, Douglas,
Sawyer, Eau Claire, Chippewa,
Rusk and Barron Counties)
Western Wisconsin (Trempeal-
eau, Jackson, Buffalo, Pepin,
Dunn and Pierce Counties)
Isle Royale
Price, Fifty Cents
WISCONSIN IMPLEMENTS AND ORNAMENTS
Peace Medals
Silver Trade Crosses
Copper Implements
Copper Ornaments
Ceremonial Knives
Caches of Stone and Metal Im-
plements
Flint Perforators
Bone, Shell, Lead and Hematite
Implements
Marine Shell Implements
Bannerstones
Cones, Plummets and Boat-
stones
Net-weights
Birdstones
Price, Fifty Cents
The Indian Authorship of Wisconsin Antiquities
A Record of Wisconsin Antiquities
The Aboriginal Pipes of Wisconsin
Price, One Dollar
Orders for any of the above bulletins should be addressed to
Charles E. Brown, Secretary, Madison, Wisconsin
^^''^^■■^
*Vs-,S-">;
'-* ^■^'1.
v^i
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOriFTV
PUBLICATIONS
As a result of fifteen years of exploration and research conducted
in Wisconsin the state society is in a position to offer to students of
American archeology and Indian history a series of valuable and
well-illustrated bulletins on the following subjects. Because of the
small number of copies printed, the number of any issue remaining
on hand is small and liable to be exhausted at any time.
REPORTS OF REGIONAL INVESTIGATIONS
Racine County
Winnebago Count)'
Fond du Lac County
Eastern Sauk County
Wood and Portage Counties
Lake Koshkonong Region (Rock,
Jefferson and Dane Counties)
Turtle Creek Region, Rock Co.
La Courte Oreilles Region, Saw-
yer County
Upper Baraboo Valley, (Juneau
and Monroe Counties)
Washington Island, Door Co.
Lake Mendota, Dane County
Lake Waubesa, Dane County
Lake Wingra, Dane County
Pewaukee Township, Waukesha
County
Northeastern Wisconsin (Ocon-
to and Marinette Counties)
Northern Wisconsin (Marathon,
Lincoln and Oneida Counties)
Northwestern Wisconsin (St.
Croix, Polk, Bvirnett, Douglas,
Sawyer, Eau Claire, Chippewa,
Rusk and Barron Counties)
Western Wisconsin (Trempeal-
eau, Jackson, Buffalo, Pepin,
Dunn and Pierce Counties)
Isle Royale
Price, Fifty Cents
WISCONSIN IMPLEMENTS AND ORNAMENTS
Peace Medals
Silver Trade Crosses
Copper Implements
Copper Ornaments
Ceremonial Knives
Caches of Stone and Metal Im-
plements
Flint Perforators
Bone, Shell, LeAd and Hematite
Implements
Marine Shell Implements
Banners tones
Cones, Plummets and Boat-
stones
Net-weights
Birds tones
Price, Fifty Cents
The Indian Authorship of Wisconsin Antiquities
A Record of Wisconsin Antiquities
The Aboriginal Pipes of Wisconsin
Price, One Dollar
Orders for any of the above bulletins should be addressed to
Charles E. Brown, Secretary, Madison, Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Archeological Society is endeavoring
to awaken a live interest in the great historical and
educational value of Wisconsin's antiquities. It is
encouraging the preservation of representative groups
of Wisconsin mounds; is conducting surveys and
researches, and assisting in the establishment of
archeological collections in the edu< ' " * ?'
tutions of our state.
Its worthy and very necessary labors d / c the
full support of all intelligent and public spirited
citizens. No one desires that the antiquities of our
state shall be destroyed before a full record of their
location and character shall have been iv -^ •
The Society has 300 members now. It waii(^ ».
that number.
Subscriptions to its research and
funds are
Annual membership, $2. Sustainin;
Life membership, ■
121 0
hip, $5.
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